


When Souls Collide

by Winter_Genisis



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Action, Adventure, Alcohol Abuse, Angst, Drama, Drug Use, Elves, Gore, Horror, Multi, OC, Romance, Smoking, Supernatural - Freeform, War, general mind fuckery, genocide mention, magiks, new geographic layout, post apocolypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-19
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-02 01:09:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 52,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winter_Genisis/pseuds/Winter_Genisis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I DON'T HAVE A SOLID PLOTLINE, NEVER DID, THEREFORE UNTIL FURTHER  NOTICE THIS WORK STANDS ABANDONED.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto is the creator of Naruto, I don't own any part of the franchise and am not making any money from this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Aya Kimi (ffn)
> 
> A disambiguation on this AU: Most easily, you could look at this as a post-apocalyptic universe, where people are advanced enough but with different things, like magic. There are parts of the lost world that weren't harmed that almost no one knows about. There are things people know about, left over from books that were not destroyed. There are things dug up in archaeological sites... Mostly this is a bizarre mix of futuristic/post apocalyptic high fantasy.
> 
> Anyway, I renamed the various villages and gave them Greek names, so these are the ones in this chapter:
> 
> Land of Eddies: Gi ton Dinón
> 
> Land of Fire: Gi Tou Pyros
> 
> Whirlpool Village (I kinda guessed at that name): Chorió Ydromasáz
> 
> There are other changes as well, but like I said, please bare with me! And review! That is extremely important! I tend to be vague in my writing and have things unfold and revealed to the reader over time.
> 
> Enjoy~

 

 

 

* * *

 

_15 years before present_

* * *

People no longer utter the name "Uchiha" anymore. True, the clan had been the proudest in Gi Tou Pyros. The mere mention of the name had struck fear in the hearts of their enemies. But now it's taboo. No one ever speaks of them anymore.

You're probably wondering, what could have happened to such a powerful and prestigious clan. It seems as though no one really knows. But that's not true. They  _know_ , but even now it just seems impossible—the idea of a single man taking out the entire clan.

... Especially because that man was Itachi Uchiha, the clan's most prominent prodigy.

It happened fifteen years ago, in lukewarm, humid summer twilight. The man the clan knew and loved mercilessly cut down everyone: his parents, best friend and even his lover. They say he killed every man, woman and child indiscriminately—but that wasn't the truth. He had failed to kill his darling little brother, Sasuke, five at the time of the incident. He'd been away, playing with his friends. But it is said that Itachi waited for him to return home, and forced the child to relive the murders through his brother's eyes—through the Sharingan. Apparently this Sharingan is a special ability passed down through the clan, and is able to manipulate time. At the user's will, it can even predict what another person is going to do up to a minute in the future.

And so, wishing to die along with the rest of the clan, Sasuke had lain upon the same spot for days, in the drying blood of his parents, before someone finally showed up. He was a little taller than average, with pale, sickly white skin, and long, greasy black hair. His eyes were yellow, and the pupils narrow. They could almost be likened to a snake's. This was a man of legend, someone known throughout Gi Tou Pyros and even beyond. His name lived in infamy, and even the whisper of it would terrify mischievous children into submission. This man was Orochimaru.

* * *

 

_2 years earlier_

* * *

"Kushina! Hurry and get Naruto out of here!" Minato yelled as the booming sounds of explosions grew louder.

It had all happened so suddenly, and without much warning. But the Yellow Flash was determined that, even if he should die, his family would get out alive.

Kushina ran as fast as she could with her one month old infant wrapped tightly in her arms. She knew she wasn't running fast enough. But the miasma weighed down on her body and she felt as though she was under water. It was getting hard to breathe.

Kushina had reached the outskirts of Chorió Ydromasáz. It was too dangerous to openly run across the bridge and back to the continent, to Gi Tou Pyros. Kushina knew that what she was about to do was a tremendous leap of faith. She gently tucked the child into a pile of leaves in the marsh.

"Naruto," she whispered, brushing his tuft of sunshine yellow hair. His innocent blue eyes looked up at his mother questioningly. Kushina looked over her shoulder apprehensively, and fell to her knees, clasping her hands above her head in a desperate motion. "Rahun... Father! Please! I beg of you, watch over my boy. You rule all and know all. Please watch over and protect my son! Mesi, I leave my child in your care. I am your faithful servant! Please, have mercy on my child. I will fight for my clan and my village, and I will die willingly—gladly even! But not my child. Please... not Naruto!"

Then, in the long hours that followed, Kurama, the demon fox, came upon a little child in the brush on the edge of the marshes. Kurama took pity on the child. He was a baby and was too young to know about the wrongs that his clan had caused the fox, or why the clan even hunted the fox in the first place.

Kurama's bright red miasma receded into his body, dissipating the fox-shaped energy that hovered in the air above him like a heavy thundercloud. His skin was quite pale, with three thick, black lines on each cheek. He had long, untamed red hair, held out of his face by a dark green bandana that was folded and tied like a headband. His upper incisors were only slightly, but his narrow slit-like eyes remained the same. They were red and hungry and cunning and cruel. The two long swords he carried on his back made no noise even as he moved to pick up the small child, although his big, shiny black boots made loud sucking noises as he schlepped though the marshy area.

The blonde infant, clearly unafraid of the stranger, peered up at him under long feminine eye lashes. He wore a strikingly bold expression. Without a second thought, Kurama took this child, Naruto, as he had heard him being called, and quickly left the stench of death that covered Chorió Ydromasáz.

* * *

 

_End Prologue_

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I know this is really different... And probably really weird... But It's kinda weird for me too...
> 
> To clarify some things:
> 
> Minato was born in the Village Hidden in the Leaves (Vicus in Foliis) and Kushina is from Whirlpool Village (Gurgite Vicus).
> 
> Miasma: n. 1) noxious exhalations putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere. 2) a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike atmosphere
> 
> The Uchiha clan, just like in Naruto, are a clan from the Leaf Village (^ ^ ^)
> 
> Sasuke was 3 when Naruto was born and became an orphan, thus they are 3 years apart.
> 
> Okay so. The names Rahun and Mesi are going to be names of gods in this fic. I would suggest looking on www dot purpleduckgames dot com / qelf8 to see what I'm doing here. I'm basing this off of traditional Elven gods, but whatevs. Rahun is based off of the Elven Allfather. Rahun (chaotic good) is the head honcho. He's attributed to creation, and he embodies freedom, laughter and loves a good fight, and he's the protector and guardian of all races. Mesi is the female equivalent of the "Lord of the Deep". Mesi (chaotic good) is fairly powerful, but not as powerful as Rahun. She is the ruler of the seas and loves acquiring and imparting knowledge.
> 
> -sigh- Well I suppose that's that. Hope that helps! Lol


	2. I - No place Like Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Aya Kimi (ffn)
> 
> I finally got this out! This chapter is probably pretty slow... But it's very important nonetheless.
> 
> Remember that place names are often going to be in Greek, since that's the main language that I've established for the Land of Fire.
> 
> I will designate when people are speaking another language, and what language they are speaking. Yes! There are different languages! Yay! Pyroan is basically Greek, 'kay? I made the word up and it's the language of people from Gi Tou Pyros, aka Land of Fire. Why? Well, PYROan. XD Creative, aren't I? No.
> 
> Gi Tou Pyros: Land of Fire
> 
> To Chorió Fýlla: The Leaf Village

 

 

 

* * *

 

_12 years after the Uchiha Massacre_

* * *

"Wrong!" Kurama smacked Naruto on the head.

"I know, I know." The blonde grumbled as he tried again.

Kurama went over to a nearby tree and sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him. He looked at Naruto with a languid expression.

"Don't force it. If you force it nothing will happen. You have to  _let_  it happen. Close your eyes and calm your breathing."

Naruto scrunched up his face, trying to understand his teacher's words.

"Uhm..." The boy took up his stance again, trying to be calm, and trying to "let it happen". "Rasengan!"

A ball of fast-spinning air appeared, hovering just above the palm of Naruto's hand. But it quickly dissolved.

"Idiot!" Kurama growled. "Don't be so surprised when something actually happens! Retain your concentration! Again!"

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Rasengan!" He shouted out.

This time, the sphere of air firmly formed in Naruto's hand, but immediately faltered when he spoke.

"Umm… What do I do now?"

Kurama rolled his eyes.

"For the love of…"

He acted as though it were an effort to pick himself up off the ground. Turning so that Naruto could see, he quickly formed the Rasengan in his hand and thrust it at the tree he had been sitting under. When he did this, the Rasengan left his hand and barreled through that tree, as well as the one behind it, with a loud, resounding crash.

"Do that." The redhead flopped back under the now rather battered tree, and watched.

Naruto formed the Rasengan again, and copied his teacher's movements, propelling the sphere of fast-moving air into a tree. Like a puppy, he eagerly turned to Kurama for praise. He adored it when his master praised him. But the man who sat there threw the blonde a rather dissatisfied glance, instead.

"Not strong enough. Again."

Naruto sighed, but he did it again.

This time Kurama's lips curled up a bit, as though thinking of forming a smile, and he gave the boy a thumbs up.

"That's enough for today."

"No way! Stupid fox, you said you were gonna teach me how to fuse my element through a weapon! And also, what should the weapon be? I wanna know!" His blue eyes glowed brightly with excitement, disregarding Kurama who was trying to interject. "Am I gonna wield a sword like you? It's so cool how you can use two at once! I wanna learn how to do that!"

"Naruto! Calm down!" Kurama glared down at him, massaging the bridge of his nose. "You  _will_  learn, but not today. Physical activity is good, but nothing is good in excess, and you have a tendency to do  _everything_  in excess."

Naruto pouted, put off by Kurama's scolding.

But then, with a sidelong glance, Kurama finished with, "You need to let your body rest for a while. You need to learn that physical, spiritual and intellectual growth must come with a growth in patience as well. Nothing will happen overnight... Well actually, with you, it just might, seeing how you exert yourself. Anyhow, I'll let you get set up with a weapon once we get to To Chorió Fýlla. Alright?"

Naruto had to keep himself from jumping with joy. He kept sulking, hoping to make Kurama feel bad, and only replied with a, "Fine…"

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

_Naruto sighed, and squirmed in his sleeping bag to get comfortable. He turned over, wiggling closer to the fire for warmth. Sleeping just wasn't working right now. He opened his eyes. Kurama wasn't in his sleeping bag. Curious, Naruto got up and went to go look for him. But he didn't have to look far._

_In the darkness, the child could see a bright orange blaze flashing every few seconds. He crept closer, silently and carefully. The moonlight peeked through the heavy canopy of trees, hanging like silk webs around him. Through the dim sliver light he could just make out his master, with those bright flashes of fire lighting up his pale countenance, and that red hair that hung about him like a halo of blood._

_Naruto slowly crept closer._

_Crossing both of his swords together, he slashed the empty air with great force. Then, he crossed his swords again. But this time, Naruto saw a flash of fire, and in front of Kurama, a tree was cut into pieces and heavily burned._

_"Woah…!" Lost in awe and wonder, his reverant exclamaition had given his hiding spot away._

_Noticing Naruto, Kurama turned to him and grinned._

_"Watch closely,"_

_The sword in his left hand almost seemed to catch fire, while the air around the sword in his right hand seemed to vibrate. He did the action again, and Naruto clapped joyously at seeing such a display from his master._

_Kurama walked over to Naruto, sheathing his swords._

_"You liked that, kit?" He asked with a nearly imperceptible smirk._

_"That was amazing!" Little Naruto was bubbling over with excitement._

_"Well." Kurama walked past the boy toward the camp. "You still have a long way to go before you can do something like that." He looked back at Naruto with an expression the blonde liked to think was something akin to fondness. "You're getting there though. You're going to be at that point sooner than you think, so don't get too impatient."_

* * *

_Back to Present_

* * *

Fire was Kurama's element, while Naruto's was wind. However, being a demon fox, Kurama could use all elements: fire, wind, lighting, water and earth. But fire was always his strongest, which even Naruto could see. The fox had once explained to him that it was simply the make-up of your spirit and your genes. That's what guaranteed your spirit element. For instance, if Naruto's family was full of earth and fire spirit types, he had a low chance of having a wind, lightning or water spirit. But it wasn't necessarily impossible. Kurama also explained that even though he could utilize aspects of all the elements, humans could at most use two or three. So when it came time for Naruto to choose one other than his wind, it would be best that he choose carefully.

Not only is the spirit type dependent on the make-up of the spirit itself and of the person's genes, but the type of magic a person uses is also dependent on these two same factors. Most generally, there is white, grey and black magic. White magic users never use their powers for bad, and often are skilled in using charms and wards. Moreover, they are customarily healers. But then again, these are stereotypes. Grey magic can go either way. It depends simply on the whim of the user: whether they wish to inflict harm or use their magic for good. Either way, they have a very broad range of techniques because of this, and are perhaps the most feared of all magic users, even though the majority of them would never truly do anything "evil". Black magic users, contrary to the popular belief, are not always bad. They are adept at curses and making poisons and such. They must often perform sacrifices to blight or summon what they wish.

Within these three types of magic are so many other sub-types that there are simply too many to tell. Naruto here hasn't quite figured out what he excels at yet. Kurama has told him that he suspects it is either grey magic or black magic. But Naruto knows he lacks the concentration as of yet to cast a curse, so he doubts the black magic theory.

The pair was walking down a long dirt road as Naruto pondered all of this. But he was dragged out of his thoughts when Kurama stiffened, and Naruto's attention was brought to another person strolling toward them at a leisurely pace. Naruto heard Kurama growl softly. But they continued walking. Soon enough, the stranger was upon them. It was a tall male with long, brown hair and pale, milky eyes. He stopped them in the road.

"State your business." Latin flowed easily from his lips like a soft ribbon of silk, yet his voice was stern, and it demanded an answer.

Naruto was about to speak, but Kurama cut him off. "We are headed for To Chorió Fýlla. Why are you blocking our path?" The redhead sneered down at the young man, and Naruto watched his visage waver slightly. He was glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of that look.

"Our lookouts spotted two suspicious figures approaching the city walls, and they requested I look into it."

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "I see you're not alone."

Then, a girl, most probably the same age as the young man from what Naruto could see, dropped from a tree about 100 yards off. The man's eyes darted in her direction, then back to the two travelers.

"As you can obviously see, I am not." This would have come off as impolite with anyone else, but this man managed to make his sneering quite dignified and proper.

Kurama, appearing thoughtful for a moment, eyed them both.

"Will you be accompanying us to the village, then?"

The man nodded, still watching them with his strange, wary eyes. But Kurama must have passed him and the girl off as harmless because he and Naruto were on the move once again. The girl remained a good distance away from them.

After a while, the man broke the silence by asking another question. "How long will you be staying in our village?"

Kurama shrugged. "Don't know. Depends on how long I feel like it."

The man nodded his acknowledgement. After about an hour, they were approaching the village gate. Naruto was all eyes. In his entire life, he had never been to a town this big. One of the gate keepers, a man with dark, spiky hair and a soul patch, let them inside, nodding to the man and woman preceding the travelers.

The gatekeeper spoke. "Please allow me to escort you to the Hokage."

"With pleasure." Kurama drawled. The man stiffened at the menacing undertone of his voice.

Naruto didn't know where to look as they walked down the middle of the bustling village. There were rows of shops, one in particular with a lovely aroma of food drifting out of it. A larger building showed a selection of weapons in the front window. Colorful apartments and houses littered the streets that stemmed from the main one, and everyone looked so cheerful and happy just to be going about their daily business.

Naruto and the other two men soon came into view of an immense structure, towering over everything else in the town. The building was rounded, with a large flat red roof. The front of it read "Ignis" **[1]**. In the background was a substantial mountain. The sides were steep and rocky, with many ridged cliffs and over hangs. On five of these separate cliffs were colossal shrines, four of them decorated and flowered as though there were gods being honored there, or they were the graves of great people. The last one stood off farthest to the right—starkly bare in contrast to the others. Naruto wanted to question Kurama about this, but he noticed that the fox was already looking at Naruto with a tense expression. However, the expression disappeared as soon as the blonde had seen it, and he'd guessed that it had simply been his imagination.

They continued walking to the large building with the red roof, until the mountain was nearly out of sight. Suddenly, Kurama halted Naruto.

"Wait." His voice came across as strangely even.

Their escort had stopped briefly to greet another man, with straight, light brown hair that came about an inch above his shoulders. He wore a black bandana, but a clump of his long bangs still hung in his face.

"What's your name?" Kurama asked, pointing to the man.

"Ah, I'm Izumo!" he answered. Naruto noticed that he seemed a bit flustered, but thought maybe it was just his imagination.

The gatekeeper-escort stepped closer to Izumo.

"What's going on? Do you need something from him?" The man spoke calmly, but Naruto could almost visualize the man's hackles rising.

Kurama turned to him. "I would like to leave Naruto down here with Izumo, if it's alright."

"Umm…" The man blinked, slightly bewildered. He looked at Izumo.

"I don't mind..." Izumo returned with a shrug.

Kurama turned to go, but then, as if having a second thought, turned back and went over to Naruto. He ruffled the blonde's hair, shocking the boy.

"You're a good kid. And you have endless potential. Use it." The deomon flashed a brief smile that showed some honest affection for Naruto.

Watching Kurama walk away, Naruto was at a loss. This feeling of uneasiness he had been trying to ignore couldn't be swept under the rug anymore. Kurama would never normally do something like that. What was going on?

"So is this your first time in To Chorió Fýlla?" Izumo queried. He perched himself up on a short stone wall and gave Naruto a sidelong grin.

"Um. Yeah." He was a little embarrassed about that since it seemed to be such a large and well known place.

"Hmm."

"Umm…" Naruto began. He wanted to ask what those shrines were. But a thought suddenly occurred to him that maybe it was a taboo subject in the village.  _Oh no… What if they're haunted?!_  The thought struck terror into his soul.

"Yes?" Izumo turned to face him.

"… Those shrines…"

"Oh those!" Izumo seemed to know just what he wanted to ask, and his facial expression didn't make it seem like he was about to tell a ghost story, so Naruto let himself relax.

"First, you have to know that it's a very special place. We have a very powerful village leader, known within and out of the country as the Hokage. This village is feared and respected for the Hokage and the strength of the citizens."

Naruto nodded, but he was already zoning out.

"So those shrines there are dedicated to each Hokage. There have been five so far, and the one left undecorated is the current one; the one still alive."

On that statement, Naruto finally understood, since that actually answered his question.

"Now, the fifth Hokage is our first female Hokage, Tsunade. She was a student of the third, and is one of three legendary figures to have come out of our village, known all over the world as The Nightmare Trio."

_The Nightmare Trio?_  Naruto stiffened, now visibly alarmed. Izumo laughed.

"Don't worry, Tsunade is a wonderful woman. Just make sure you watch yourself around her. She can be terrifying."

Naruto made a face. "It's hard to believe your leader is a girl…"

Izumo laughed again. "If Lady Tsunade heard you say that, you would be unconscious by now. She can truly be a fearsome woman. She's the world's best healer, but her brute strength is also world renown."

"Hmph." There was a short silence as Naruto pictured a very manly looking woman, and then Naruto asked another question. "So, this village has been here for a while then, huh?"

Izumo looked at the blonde with an expression that was difficult to decipher.

"Yes… We have a very rich history that we are immensely proud of."

"Oh…" Naruto turned toward the village and watched the small children being led home by their parents, probably to eat dinner. "Is it nice to have a permanent home like this? Do you have a family like these people seem to?" He gestured toward the villagers, most of who were going home for the evening.

"Umm… Well…" Izumo was clearly baffled, and Naruto couldn't blame him. "I've always lived here, and my family is here as well… But," He grabbed Naruto's shoulder and turned him around to face him. "you look… strangely like someone that I used to know…"

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Really?" he asked, getting excited. "Is he cool?"

Izumo smiled. "Yeah… He was…" His smile had been brief; he looked forlorn now. "Where were you born?"

Naruto was caught off guard at this unexpected question, but then he looked away, ashamed. "Gi ton Dinón." He was ashamed because this was his automatic answer, and it was where he thought he had been born. But it's not like he ever knew for certain.

Izumo's eyebrows rose a bit. "Interesting…"

"Nah, not really." Naruto crossed his arms and began to pace impatiently. "When is that stupid old fox coming back?"

"I'm sure he'll be back soon, but please be patient in the meantime."

"No! I'm starving! This ramen place back there in the village… Ichiroba—Icha Icha—whatever it was, it smelled really delicious!"

Just then Izumo's countenance brightened considerably—not that it was really very dim or gloomy to begin with. He strode past the stone fence and greeted the returning spiky haired man.

"Kotetsu!" Izumo smiled. "So, what—"

Kotetsu motioned for Izumo to come closer. Kotetsu whispered something in his ear that caused him to gasp and look over at Naruto out of the corner of his eye.

The blond noticed. "What?" he chirped, immediately next to the pair.

"Umm…" Kotetsu coughed, appearing a bit uncomfortable. "Will you please follow me?"

"Okay…" Naruto was worried. He had been a bit anxious before, but he was now even more so that this man—Kotetsu—returned to them without Kurama. And the way that Kurama had acted before leaving him…

Following Kotetsu up a flight of stone stairs outside of the building, Naruto's foreboding grew. He couldn't put his finger on why, though. Inside, they went down a long hallway, and stopped in front of a pair of large, oak doors off to the right side. The hallway seemed to go on forever past that, though. Kotetsu rapped on the doors, creating a loud, hollow sound.

"Lady Tsunade?" he called.

"Enter!" The strong, full voice of a woman called back through the door.

Kotetsu opened the doors and gestured for Naruto to enter first. Immediately he saw was a tall, slender woman with short black hair. She wore black and white robes and ornate silver sandals on her feet. She didn't smile. Her dark grey eyes were cold and wary to the boy; almost disdainful. Naruto sneered at her and she sneered right back.

"Shizune!"

The woman's expression was at once docile.

"Apologies, my lady."

The person who had rebuked this Shizune was sitting behind a large desk at the back of the room.

_The Hokage…_

Tsunade's gaze on Naruto was so intense that he almost felt like backing up. But he didn't. He distracted himself from her fierce amber eyes and looked over the rest of her. She sat in a relaxed pose, cheek resting on hand, but she seemed somehow tense. The woman looked to be in her mid to late twenties. She had long blonde pigtails, and a few loose strands of her hair cascaded freely over her face. There was a purple design on her forehead that, to Naruto, was strangely beautiful. The thing the boy really started gawking at was her ears.  _She's an elf?!_

"Wow! I've never seen an elf before! Believe it!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue, pressing her forehead into one of her slender hands. She had very large breasts. And they were only emphasized by a tight, long-sleeved white shirt with a low neck line. A red cloak was draped over her shoulders.

While Naruto took in the last few details of her, Tsunade sighed heavily.

She rested her elbows on the table and pressed her fingertips together. "Naruto." The name sounded like a lead weight being dropped onto the boy.

"That's my name." He replied, raising an eyebrow.

Tsunade sighed again, this time pursing her lips for a moment and looking down at her desk before meeting the boy's azure gaze once again.

"I think you'd better have a seat. This may shake you up." Her voice had become a bit softer.

Now the boy was actually getting a bit scared. Pulling up an upholstered chair, he sat down in front of the Hokage's desk. He realized that every muscle in his body had been tense, and he tried to relax a bit.

"This… may take a while. But listen carefully. What I am about to tell you will shock you to the core."

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

"Let me just begin by introducing myself. I am Tsunade, the leader of this village—the Hokage." Naruto slouched in his seat and nodded. "The woman behind you is Shizune, and I heard you have already met Kotetsu and Izumo."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto waved his hand impatiently. "Just get on with it, Granny." If she really  _was_ an elf, that meant she was pretty old, right? Right.

It happened faster than he could've seen it coming. Tsunade was across the desk and in Naruto's face, pulling him up by the collar.

"That would be  _Lady Tsunade_ , you beast." She hissed.

Naruto groaned.  _So she's one of_ those _women…_

"Yeah, sorry, Granny Tsunade."

Naruto was, for all intents and purposes, thrown back into his chair. Tsunade sat back down with her head in her hand, scowling.

"Kurama did mention that you'd be something like this… I see what he meant when he said you took patience to deal with."

"Where is he?" Naruto asked eagerly.

Tsunade took her own eyes away from Naruto's blue ones.

"We'll get to that. Let me continue. Do you speak Pyroan?"

Naruto nodded.

"Good." Tsunade replied, immediately switching to Pyroan. "I was informed that you were already aware that Kurama is of no blood relation to you."

"Mhmm…"

For a moment, there was silence.

"…Where do you think you were born?"

"Umm… I guess : Chorió Ydromasáz…" Naruto answered without much thought.

"Wrong!" Tsunade belted out the word like a game show hostess.

Naruto crossed his arms and peered at her skeptically. After all, he'd always thought he'd been born there.

"Your mother was from there. However, she moved here as a child, leaving behind her entire family. You were born here, as was your father." She smiled a bit. "You look so much like him."

"I don't know what you're talking about! It's not fair! I don't know anything about either of my parents! Yet you claim to know everything!" What Tsunade was telling him contradicted so many things about Naruto and what he knew about himself. He suddenly felt very small, confused and alone, and he wished so badly right then that Kurama was there to look him in the eyes, silently telling him that it was okay.

Tsunade sighed. "Just listen to me, alright? I know this must be quite confusing to you, but Kurama believes you're old enough to know all of this by now."

Naruto stood abruptly, knocking the chair back. "Where is he? Why isn't he here? Have you done something to him?"

Tsunade stood as well, slamming her hands on her desk. "Maybe if you could shut up for one blasted second I would tell you! Shizune!"

"Yes, my lady!"

"Bring me some sake."

"But…"

"Just go and get it!"

"Yes!"

Naruto's eyes widened. For someone who looked so fragile and… womanly, this old lady had a lot of fight in her.  _She_ is _the leader of the village, after all…_  The boy sat back down. Tsunade followed suit and began explaining again.

"Your mother moved to this village when she was eight, due to war, poverty as a result of war, and strife in her village and country as a whole. She met your father, and your parents—Kushina and Minato—eventually married. You were born here in To Chorió Fýlla. Kushina wished to return to : Chorió Ydromasáz so that her relatives could meet her new family. They left with you, despite warnings that it was not safe there.

A certain demon had a long standing grudge against : Chorió Ydromasáz. Generation after generation of your clan—the Uzumaki clan—had tried to hunt him down, for some unspeakable crime he had committed in the past. But the real reason for the clan's anger had long been forgotten. Now people hunted the fox demon for honor and glory, but they also saw him as a dangerous existence that needed to be eliminated. The fox demon finally got sick of mankind's games and flattened not only the clan, but the village as well that, for centuries, had been the thorn in his side. This, Naruto, was the cause of your parents' demise. Kurama mentioned that both of your parents fought him valiantly, and that's is saying something, that your parents stood out to him. He told me that he spared you because you were only an infant, innocent of the turmoil that had swept up your clan. He told me that he taught you as much as possible in the time that he had with you. He requested that you'd be further trained in the way of hand-to-hand combat, magic, and weapon handling."

"Wait!" Naruto interrupted, jumping up again. "What happened to Kurama?"

"We detained him for crimes against humanity and for being a dangerous existence. Eventually he will be sealed away as a demon—"

"He's not dangerous!" Naruto shouted angrily. "I mean, I know what he did to : Chorió Ydromasáz… but it sounds justified!"

"It was for him," Tsunade calmly assented, "but do you honestly think that's all he's done?"

Naruto shook his head uncertainly. A blood thirsty aura did indeed always seem to hang around the fox. But perhaps Naruto had simply grown used to it over time… The boy always tended to forget that Kurama was a demon.

"Now, I know this must be a lot for you to take in all at once," Tsunade's honey eyes seemed to soften a bit from their prior intensity. "but are we almost on the same page now?"

Honestly, Naruto didn't know what to think about all of this. Actually, he didn't want to think of anything at all. He replied with a hesitant affirmative, wanting to mull over the entirety of this later on his own.

"Okay, now listen closely." The Hokage rested her elbows on her desk, lacing her fingers together. "You will be granted an apartment, but will be under house arrest until further notice. The only time you may leave is when someone comes to get you. Is this clear?"

"Umm…" Naruto shifted a bit in his seat, grinning to hide his sudden awkwardness. "What is house arrest?"

Tsunade sighed heavily.

"You cannot leave your apartment. To leave means you are breaking a law. We would know the very second that you step outside, no matter where you leave from. However, you will be leaving nearly every day anyway, simply with people who I assign to get you. You need things like food and clothing, for one thing. In addition, I was informed that your magic, weapons and hand-to-hand combat skills need improvement. After a time, you will be able to leave your apartment as you please, and we will go from there."

Most of this went in one ear and out the other.

"Huh?"

"Ugh." Tsunade rubbed her forehead. "Never mind, we'll cross these bridges when we come to them. Now," she stood up and walked briskly over to the door. She asked Shizune, "Have you called her?"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

Shizune opened one of the large doors. In the hall stood a girl, whom Naruto guessed was about his age. He watched her as she glided confidently into the room, sparing him less than a second's glance with bright emerald eyes. She had shoulder-length hair, which Naruto found peculiar because it was a pale shade of pink. But he though she was beautiful, especially with that short, form-fitting red dress she wore.

"Did you have any need of me, my Lady?" she queried with a voice like the tinkling of bells.

"Yes I do. This is very important." Tsunade turned to Naruto. "Sakura, this is Naruto Uzumaki. Likewise, Naruto, this is Sakura Haruno, my pupil."

Sakura smiled, her eyes shining brightly. "Hello, Naruto. It's nice to meet you!"

As she spoke, she brushed some of her hair back from her face behind her ear—which was long and pointed.

No wonder she was such a beauty!  _She_  was an elf, too!

Sakura crossed her arms and popped her hip out, and her flawless forehead creased with a frown.

"Hey, stupid! Can you talk or not?"

Naruto snapped out of it, his cheeks growing warm.

"Sorry," he grinned, covering it up. "It's nice to meet you too!"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sakura, this boy is new in the village. Although he was born here, that was not brought to his attention until now. He was raised on the road as an orphan. However, he already has decent knowledge of the basic skill sets needed to become an apprentice. Now, here is his apartment address." The woman handed a slip of paper to Sakura. "Take him there. Until further notice, he is under house arrest."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Come back and see me, though, once he is settled in. I have more jobs for you today. You may go now."

Sakura nodded and turned to leave. Naruto stood there uncertainly, not really knowing whether or not he should follow. His heart ached to leave Kurama. But Sakura stopped and turned around. She placed a hand on her hip, and asked with an annoyed expression if he was coming or not.

"Oh!" The blonde kept his sorrow well hidden behind a look of surprise and embarrassment, as if he were being pulled out from a daydream. "Yeah, sorry."

He followed the pink-haired girl out of the room and down the hall, until she opened a door and stepped into the bright sunlight. Her pale skin almost glittered. The few gossamer strands of her hair that lay upon her neck, made him long to softly brush them away with his fingertips. But she was skipping swiftly down the long flight of stairs, and Naruto had to follow. They passed Kotetsu and Izumo once more, who were chatting against the stone wall. Izumo's face was a bit flushed.

"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto caught up to the girl and walked alongside her. "Is that Izumo guy sick? His face is red…"

Sakura stopped her brisk pace immediately, and whipped her head around. Then she rolled her eyes and sighed, but a soft smile had made its way onto her countenance.

"No, he's not sick." She turned to Naruto. "Were you concerned?"

"Well yeah! Of course! I talked to him while my master was talking to Granny Tsunade—"

"Do not address her like that!"

"—in the big building and he seemed like a really nice guy!"

Suddenly the unexpected happened. Sakura punched Naruto. He had to have gone flying at least three feet from where he stood. He sat up in a daze, rubbing his chin.

"Sakura~! What was that for?" he whined.

"It was for disrespecting my master, my Hokage, and my Queen!" Sakura spit back scathingly.

"What…? Queen?"

"She is the most legendary and revered elfin queen to date. While she is the Hokage of our village, she is also the queen of all the elves in the region. Remember that and treat her with more respect, you urchin!" she continued walking.

Naruto lowered his eyes and followed. He didn't really understand what she was saying, but he understood that Granny Tsunade was her master. It reminded him of his own...

He tried not to think about that stupid fox. He would lose it if he did.

"I've been informed that tomorrow I will be coming to help you stock up on food. Basically, I'll come pick you up and we'll go grocery shopping. I'll come get you early so that you can have breakfast. Later in the day another person will stop by your apartment and you two will go clothes shopping. You can't get by with two sets of clothes like you have now. It isn't considered civilized." Sakura veered off the main road and headed down an alley. They were soon in a more suburban part of the village. A wooden fence lined the path on both sides.

"You're going to be living up here." Sakura pointed to a rather cheap looking apartment complex.

Naruto had never been in a village like this, but even to him, it looked a bit dingy. The pair hiked up three flights of metal stairs to the top floor. Naruto really liked the view from over the railing here. He could see the Hokage's building, and the mountain where all the shrines were placed. It really was pretty, especially with the sun beginning to set behind the mountain.

Sakura, however, drew Naruto's attention back from the scenery. There were doors going down in a row on their left, which Naruto suspected were the apartments themselves.

"Here is your apartment, Naruto." She took out a small, silver key and unlocked the door. "I'm not coming in because as you heard, I have more errands to run for Lady Tsunade. But I hope you have everything you need. Remember, you cannot leave unless someone arrives to fetch you for some reason. It will be like this until further notice. Understand?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well then." She flipped her hair a bit and smiled, giving the blonde another chance to admire many of her outstanding features, like her slender wrists and perfect skin. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow!"

Naruto supposed this meant that he was supposed to say good bye. He was lacking a bit in terms of human interaction. So he smiled a bit, and slightly raised one of his hands in a farewell gesture. Sakura seemed to get the idea, and left after seeing Naruto was inside the apartment.

Slowly, Naruto backed inside and shut the door. He turned around to survey his apartment, but he didn't really take much of it in. It was dim inside because the windows were closed, and that was just fine with him.

It was mostly an empty place. Just like him.

Naruto leaned against the door, sighing heavily. He closed his eyes. His breathing just wouldn't remain steady. His knees gradually bent and buckled underneath his body, and he sank to the floor, hanging his head between his knees. A feeling of absolute hopelessness and despair overcame him; silent tears dampened his face, flowing from utterly blank, cerulean eyes.

Naruto had come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> 1) Ignis: Latin for Fire. This is in Latin and not Greek because Latin is the universal language of this world.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! To clear up any confusion, when the Uchiha Massacre occurred here, Sasuke was five and Naruto would have been 2. So here, Naruto is 14 and Sasuke is 17. There is a 3 year age difference between them and the next chapter will be the last time skip. Sorry for having so many!
> 
> If anyone is confused, please feel free to ask questions! If I can I will answer it because I may have left something out... :P


	3. II - The Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Prologue
> 
> xxxx
> 
> Place Names: Terra Ventus: Land of Wind (Latin); Arena Vicus: Sand Village (Latin)
> 
> ***Another place is mentioned, but it is annotated as it has no importance as of yet in the story.
> 
> xxxx
> 
> Wow. This was a long chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to get out. I took the time to write a Bleach fanfiction for Halloween, and although it was a oneshot I'm actually going to be writing a chapter sequel to it. So I'll be alternating, every other chapter will be this fic. But I think that the Bleach fic's chapters are shorter than this one, as is the story line (for sure!). Thank you all for being so patient!
> 
> xxxx
> 
> So I made this coin conversion chart... Yes, I made my own monetary system. Kind of. I'm having too much fun. **Actually, I originally posted this in chapter 4. But then I realized, money appears here first... So I was like. Hey. And yeah. I'll put a conversion chart in each chapter coming up now... I'll put a conversion chart in chapter 3 once I edit that again :P
> 
> $0.10: 1 sídero (gold)
> 
> $1.00: 1 chalkós (silver) (slang: jack, scratch; jack used as plural form, and also referring to money/coin in general; scratch is singular, used only for chalkós)
> 
> $10.00: 1 asími (copper)
> 
> $100.00: 1 chrysós (iron) (slang: ferr; in Latin iron=ferrum, thus "ferr")
> 
> It's really a simple system, based on the units of ten. So like, if you had 7 chalkós (about $7), you'd have 70 síderos. If you had 10 chalkós, that's the same as having 1 asími. Kinda easy to understand? Just refer to this if you get confused, and I'll be putting this conversion... list? chart? thing on each chapter for a bit, just so you don't get frustrated or anything. Remember it's okay to ask me questions about random stuff. Even I get confused sometimes, and I'm writing this! (Comforting, isn't it?)
> 
> xxxx
> 
> Please check my profile for updates on where I am with my fanfictions, like it might say I've only outlined so far, or I'm halfway through writing, or I'm done typing and I've started to finalize it. Please utilize my profile! I make it so that you know where I am and you know that I am working on my fics!
> 
> Reviews are wanted, needed, and much appreciated :)
> 
> Enjoy~

It was cold. The smell of mold and death permeated the air like years of nuclear radiation. You could feel the contamination in your eyes, on your skin, under your nails.

Footsteps echoed down a black hallway, shadows clamored up the walls, attempting to escape.

A head lifted numbly, rather indifferently, as the echo of feet splashing through shallow, polluted puddles reached him through rusted iron bars. He rested his head against the moist stone wall and closed his eyes.

Yes. This was the night.

A flickering light was shown against his face, and although his eyes remained closed, the torches blinded him. Even so, he did not react.

"Is he dead?" a nervous, timorous male inquired.

"Impossible. It is a demon." A gruffer, more masculine voice answered.

The light receded a bit, and he felt soft hands working away near his neck. The thick silence that now filled the room was cut harshly by the clinking of iron on iron. Finally, the man felt a tugging on his chaffing throat. His metal bound hands couldn't catch or stabilize himself, so he fell forward, his face hitting the dirt. His eyes, notwithstanding, remained closed, and he felt a damp warmth mingling with the mud and mire on his face. Laughter filled his ears. He was pulled roughly upright by the neck, and jerked forward so violently that he almost fell again.

Yet he would not open his eyes.

After being in that cell for three years, his hair stuck to his skin in dirty, oily patches. He reeked glaringly of his own excrement. Like some kind of animal, he could smell the blood from his neck and ankles. The chains that bound his feet clinked around and made it difficult to walk.

They stopped. All was quiet but for the dripping of dirty water onto stone floor. For many minutes, it seemed, it was absolutely silent.

Then, the man heard something. It was grating on the ears; stone against stone, but it seemed a heavy struggle as it moved so slowly. When the noise stopped, there was a sudden breath of fresh, cool air in the man's face. He was pushed forward, and they continued moving.

Someone rapped on a hollow sounding surface. It was probably a door, because the man heard a loud creaking noise as though old hinges were trying to shift.

"Is everything prepared?" The soft, timorous sounding man requested.

"Yes, sir. Now…" A new voice; and this person's gaze had fallen upon the man—he could feel it, and it was penetrating even his closed eyes. The speaker was suspicious. "Now…" the person continued. "if we are to continue with this, we must finish it quickly."

After the person said that, it seemed as though everyone shifted and took on a new position in the room.

"Ready…"

"One… Two… Three—"

The second the man's collar was ripped off, his red eyes snapped open. He did not perceive sight, however. The only thing that he registered was their screams.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

Waves smacked roughly against the wooden beams of the boardwalk, and Naruto squinted in the bright sunlight. The waves were so harsh, and yet the sky was so very clear. In front of him, beyond the paradox of sky and sea, was a lush green forest. Further, he could see large rolling hills, shimmering in the distance as tall grass danced in the wind.

It was so peacefully beautiful, and he wanted to go there. Nevertheless, after expending but a few steps, he stopped. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, but it was inside him. It seemed to be gently tugging him, like a string or a rope, through his very core, back the other way. So Naruto turned around.

Far, far away, there was what looked like a staircase just sitting smack in the middle of the boardwalk. He was sure that there was some reason that he felt like he had to go back, and he felt very strongly that it was up this mysterious staircase. Whatever it was, he would find it, no problem.

He walked, and he walked, and he walked, not pausing to look at any of the roaring whirlpools or gurgling eddies that he passed. He walked for what seemed like hours. The thought of turning back didn't even enter Naruto's mind.

Finally, and perhaps even suddenly, he was at the bottom of the stairs, his blue eyes mirroring the sky as he looked up at the long and possibly infinite staircase. It disappeared out of sight beyond the clouds.

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Naruto began to climb.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

Kurama opened his eyes. There was no noise about him, and the silence was very near to being deafening. An expression of confusion mingled with anxiety flitted briefly across his visage as he glanced around at the soft whiteness that surrounded him. Slowly, he stood up, a bit unsteady on his feet. He took a quick 360 of the area and stopped, spotting a hole in the colorless cotton candy floor. He stepped closer. Strange—it was though he was pulled toward it.

He peeked over the edge. There was nothing but what appeared to be a vast ocean underneath him. Still, his blood boiled for reasons unknown to him.

So he sat there on the edge of this precipice, though for what reason he didn't know. But what else was there to do? Eventually though, he opted for lying down, although he never managed to fall asleep. A loud gasp caused Kurama to open his eyes, and before the lethargic demon could register what was happening, he was tackled with a flash of blonde hair and a joyous cry.

"Kurama!"

Said demon blinked, prying Naruto off of his person. "Hmph." He brushed himself off nonchalantly. "I suppose this means my little spell worked. But I must admit I didn't expect to be seeing you this soon."

"Wait. What?" The confusion was so evident on Naruto's face that Kurama bit back a smirk.

"Dull boy." He flicked Naruto's forehead. "I've been imprisoned by your village leader for three years, yes?"

Naruto nodded, suddenly looking quite sullen.

"Well, early in those three years I created a curse." The blonde's eyes widened in horror. "Stupid boy," Kurama sighed in exasperation. "I am a demon. Am I supposed to practice only White Magic? Anyhow, this was an ocular curse. I prepared it and allowed it to lie dormant in my eyes until it was needed. I was unfortunate enough to receive a collar which contained my powers as a demon. But luckily, they didn't think that I might know any magic other than Old Order Black Magic."

Naruto began to question just what exactly this was, but Kurama absently waved him off. "It's nothing that  _you_  need to know about. To continue, I was, in essence, a human with magical powers." Kurama became quiet for a few seconds, allowing all of the information he had thrown at Naruto to soak in.

"So what happened?" the blonde eventually prompted.

"Well, as a demon, no one ever came near my cell as I did not need to be fed. So when I did hear someone coming, I quickly shut my eyes and cast the curse. I kept my eyes shut until they took the collar off, and when I opened my eyes, the curse was upon them. They all fell and perished, and my soul immediately flew from my body in search of you."

"And… now we're… where?" Naruto gestured vaguely around him.

"Inside your soul, you idiot." Kurama replied.

"So…" Naruto made a face, trying to understand the situation. "Your soul," he gestured to Kurama, "is inside my soul… which is where we are right now…?"

"Correct."

"What's with all of this… stuff?" Naruto asked, gesturing even more wildly by waving his arms all around him. "I mean, there's this big ass forest out there and some big ass sea with these big ass whirlpools and then there's  _this_!"

"It's you."

"Huh?"

"The forest is your father, which is a combination of wind, earth, and lightning. The ocean and whirlpools are your mother; a combination of water and wind. This, here, is the element that your spirit is aligned with: wind."

Naruto pursed his lips. "But I see clouds…"

Kurama closed his eyes and delicately rubbed his forehead and the bridge of his nose. "I guess I missed you a bit, kit." He said, with only a slightly annoyed smile.

The biggest grin the demon had ever seen appeared on his blonde protégé's face, when he suddenly disappeared.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

The morning sunlight greeted Naruto coyly through the blinds as he opened his eyes. He batted his blaring alarm clock to the floor, and let his arm simply hang off of the edge of his bed. All he wanted to do was turn over and go back to sleep. He missed Kurama desperately. The dream he had just been awakened from was a cruel reminder of the fact that this village in which he now lived had taken his master from him.

Naruto closed his eyes. His body felt like a lead weight. He took a slow, labored breath, and heaved himself out of bed, planting his feet unsteadily on the floor. He had a mission today.

Wandering into the bathroom, he splashed cold water onto his face and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked older now at seventeen, less childlike than he did when he first arrived. He scowled. He also had dark circles under his eyes…

…Come to think of it, today was the anniversary of his arrival to the village. Not that he would ever celebrate that or anything.

Shedding his pajamas while he walked to the kitchen/dining area of his apartment, Naruto wondered idly what kind of mission he would receive today, and if he would be teamed with anyone. He would do it if Tsunade asked. He liked her a lot.

Chugging some milk, he trudged back into his room and dug through some clothes on the floor. He found each item he wanted and laid them out carefully on his mussed bed before putting them on.

He first put on a tank top. It was of a mesh-like material in appearance, and it was very flexible and ultimately, wearable. But the thing that was almost unnoticeable to the wearer was that it was made out of an extremely lightweight and malleable metal. So it worked as armor. It was called cancellus **[1]**. Naruto found it fascinating, and before he'd come here he'd never seen anything like it.

He pulled on a pair of baggy, brightly colored orange cargo pants next, and then sat down afterwards to put on his black combat boots. They were tall, and he had to lace them up and tuck his pants down into them. But, his pants sort of...poofed out of them anyway. After his boots were tied, he walked over to his dresser and picked up a necklace. It was an oblong, blue crystal attached to a thin black leather strap. Naruto closed his eyes and put it on. It had been Kurama's.

Next he put on a pair of black fingerless gloves that allowed him to grip his weapons well, and then a jacket, which hung on the door. He slung the jacket on while looking in the mirror, and, popping the high collar, he grinned rather wolfishly. But the grin quickly faded and he stuck his tongue out at himself.

"Stop trying to be cool."

But he couldn't help it. The jacket was white, and had wide sleeves that came down to his elbows, plus a big Uzumaki clan symbol on the back. He's been told many a time that he looked like his father when he wore it.

Finally, he looked over to his three swords in the far corner of the room. They had become like his lovers in the past three years that he'd spent here. He'd made wonderful friends, but these swords resonated with him. They had gone through the same battles that he had, and experienced the same pain that he had, and also the pride and excitement of triumph in battle. They moved with him, and were a part of him, and would never betray him.

He drifted to them as if magnetized by them, and reached out to caress the hilt of his claymore. He called the sword Donovan **[2]**. It was common to name your weapons. After all, they would never betray you. He clipped a thick brown leather strap across his body, and slung the large sword—hilt on the left side—across his back. He then snapped a black belt around his waist, and hung his two rapiers, Maeve **[3]**  and Armyne **[4]** , from his left hip.

Walking out the door, Naruto vaguely realized that he was probably going to be late. Even so, he wanted some coffee.

A bell tinkled as he opened the door to The Heavenly Cup **[5]**. He raised his eyebrows a bit in momentary surprise when he saw the man who was waiting to have his order taken. Through a short sleeved cancellus, Naruto could see a large Nara clan emblem tattooed onto the man's upper back.

He grinned. "Morning, Shikamaru."

The man glanced uninterestedly over his shoulder at the blonde, his sleek, black hair falling over his shoulder blades like a curtain. "Hey." He turned around again to order his coffee.

Here was just another reason for Naruto to be a bit moody this morning. Not only was he dealing with the three year anniversary that Kurama was taken from him, he had also recently been coming to terms with the fact that he was gay. Not the feminine, flamboyant sort, though. The very thought of becoming like  _that_ made him cringe. He was simply… gay. And one of the people that he found most attractive was thrown in front of him, this morning, of all mornings. He had a thing for dark hair and dark eyes. Not Shikamaru. Just how he looked. Naruto shuddered at that thought, as well.  _Me and Shikamaru... I think I might throw up... or die... or both..._

_Either way, of course he'd be here right now,_ he thought, scowling deeply. But the moment Shikamaru turned to Naruto with his coffee, the blonde was all smiles. He was by no means a weak young man. He may not have been in the best of spirits, but he wouldn't dare to let others know it, lest he allow himself to be bombarded by all of those annoying, but well-intentioned questions.

He stepped up to the counter and ordered a medium vanilla hazelnut cappuccino, with non-fat milk. There was a bit of a line behind him at this point, so he moved over to allow other people to order while he waited on his drink.

As he waited for his order, Shikamaru stepped up to him. "So, how have you been doing?" He asked, but he seemed fairly unconcerned.

"Fine, fine." Naruto smiled politely. "Yourself? Oh! Your mom, how is she doing?" The blonde figured he may as well make some attempt at conversation if the guy was bothering to talk to him.

"Oh, she's doing better," Shikamaru smiled a bit, and Naruto was pleased to see that it was one of his rarer, genuine smiles. "Thank you for asking. I'm fine as well. The Hokage is keeping me busy, but…"

"What?" Naruto took his coffee from the brewer, thanking her.

The two walked out the door, and continued speaking.

"Whenever I think about how busy I am, I think of Sakura, and I feel terrible for her. Tsunade runs her totally ragged. I recently moved out of my house, which is a great thing, but also an inconvenience since the property my clan owns is what we use to create spells and various brews with—but anyway that's neither here nor there. I pay rent with Choji in a duplex, right? And we live pretty near to Sakura's apartment duplex. Sometimes, when we're hanging out on the porch, just drinking and smoking, and it's really late, or maybe we've had people over, sometimes she'll drag herself home around two in the morning. Then the next morning I wake up around seven and she's already gone."

This was very worrying to Naruto. As much as he and Sakura argued and bantered, they were as close as siblings. And, something that neither of them would ever admit to anyone, including each other, Sakura had almost taken up a motherly role to Naruto.

He appreciated it. He appreciated her.

"You should talk to her…" Shikamaru continued, looking at Naruto seriously. "You're the only one she would really listen to, as little as she listens to anyone. I have a feeling that what I'm seeing isn't just Tsunade's doing."

"Yeah…" Naruto replied pensively, "Sakura  _would_  be one to work herself half to death—probably over hospital patients."

"Mhmm." After a short silence, Shikamaru asked, "So, we're headed to the Hokage building, right?"

"Yep! I got a mission!" The blonde announced enthusiastically.

"Ah. I wonder…"

"What?" Naruto's curiosity was peaked. "What is it?"

The raven haired man snickered. "Sometimes you are such a kid. But I was just wondering if it was any mission that I had heard about."

"Like?"

Shikamaru shrugged, and looked up at the sky as if it held the answer. Naruto didn't press any further. He knew Shikamaru wouldn't respond.

However, Shikamaru surprised Naruto by saying, "I will say this much—and I'm only saying this because you're bound to hear about it sooner or later. The south is getting rather… unstable."

"Do you mean Terra Ventus or Terra Fluctus **[6]**?"

"Well, mostly Terra Ventus, but the unrest could spread to Terra Fluctus. I can't divulge the reason, however. But take care about the desert, alright? There are troublesome things there that you can't always beat down with a sword."

Naruto looked carefully at Shikamaru. There weren't many times when he saw this side of his friend: this serious, strategic, military leader side of him.

Shikamaru offered a small smile to lighten the mood. "Well, I'm off." He waved. "I hope your mission is interesting."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned and waved farewell as the raven haired man walked off down a side street.

He was so close to the Hokage building, he could see the base of it. He would reach it in perhaps five minutes.

"Naruto!"

_Aww, shit._

Naruto didn't even have to look to see who was yanking his arm out of its socket.

"Sakura… what the hell are you doing? I'm late for a meeting with the Hokage!"

"I know!" The pinkette growled at him, her murderous glare effectively silencing him. "That is why I was looking for you."

"Oh…"

She let go of him at the base of the stairs and stared the blonde down. "Lady Tsunade, Lee and I were in here waiting for you! How dare you!"

"Easy, Sakura!" Naruto made placating motions with his hands, desperately begging her without words not to hit him.

She scoffed, and, flicking her long, pearlescent hair over her shoulder (Naruto suddenly recalled how, three years ago, it was much shorter.), she turned around and began skipping up the large stone stairs two at a time.

"Lucky for you, you were not the only one who was late. You're simply more unreliable than the other, so I was sent out to look for you." She called to him over her shoulder.

Naruto knew Sakura well enough to know that she really wasn't that angry, so he relaxed a bit. She was simply acting this way to ensure that she gave him the proper dose of scolding, for, in this case, being late. Naruto smiled a bit. He remembered how he used to be so attracted to her. She was so cute, with her sweet smiles and those little red and white dresses that she would wear. But at some point she began developing a darker style. Today, over top of a short-sleeved cancellus, she wore a red tube top with the Haruno clan symbol on the back. She wore a white mini skirt with black shorts underneath, and a long black cloak, usually tied around her waist and sort of bunching up there a little. It hung pretty low in the back and on the sides. She wore these black gloves that sort of softened the impact of her terrifyingly hard punches, so that she wouldn't hurt herself with her own strength. She also wore knee high, steel-toed combat boots, so that to Naruto at least, both her punches and her kicks were extremely manly and scary.

She was an impossible woman for any guy to have. They'd have had to be able to handle her personality, and he hadn't met anyone thus far who could. He hoped she would find someone like that, though. It was much more likely than him finding… the right  _guy_  for himself. Oh man, that was still just  _so_  difficult to think about freely.

But in front of him there were those big old, oaken doors. This was not the time to be thinking of petty personal problems. He quickly cleared his mind to make room for the situation at hand.

"Lady Tsunade," Sakura addressed her master as she strode into the room. "I located Naruto as you requested."

"Good, Sakura. Thank you." The Hokage glared moodily at the door, raising an elegant eyebrow. "Your other member still hasn't arrived yet."

"Would you like for me to get her as well, ma'am?" Sakura inquired.

"No, no. Both of you, go over there and talk with Lee while you wait." Tsunade pressed the call button on her desk. "Could you please send Shizune into my office?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage." A male voice replied through the speaker.

Naruto immediately went over to Lee. They were good friends, but Lee was a pretty weird kid. He was an energetic youth with the largest eyebrows Naruto had ever seen in his life, and an obsessive love of green. Although odd, he was the most dedicated worker that the blonde had ever met. His green tank top showed off his lean, muscled arms; and underneath, there was a long sleeved cancellus that stopped in the middle of his forearms. His green pants were light-weight and airy, and they were also a bit baggy. His long, black hair was tied back in a braid. His outfit was perfect for physical combat, which is what he did best. The only weapon he had was a machete that hung at his side. He couldn't even manage magic. But that's why he worked so hard on physical skills. His hands were bandaged, but Naruto knew that those bandages covered up not just fresh wounds but also old scars from training and doing battle.

"Hey, Lee."

"Naruto!" Lee pounced on the blonde as soon he noticed him. "I haven't seen you for so long! I am very excited to be going on this mission with you!"

Naruto laughed. "You better not slow us down, got it?"

Lee glared. "The only one who will be a hindrance is you!" Now it was Naruto's turn to glare. "Soon enough, I will have you eating your words!"

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that."

"Boys, calm down." Sakura said with a condescending smile. "We don't even know what the mission is, yet."

"Doesn't matter!" The two boys said in unison.

"Naruto will definitely fail somehow!"

"How come I'm the one who has to fail?"

Sakura laughed. "You're getting kind of worked up over this, Naruto. Are you…  _afraid_ you actually  _will_  be a hindrance?"

"Of course not!" Naruto's eyes widened. "Hey! How come everyone's ganging up on me?" His eyes turned pleadingly to Sakura.

Just then, the door opened, and all eyes turned to the front of the room.

"Oh," Tsunade sighed as the tension immediately dissipated. "It's just you, Shizune."

"Yes…" She looked uncertain, and her dark eyes shot over to wear the group of adolescents stood. "Were you waiting for someone else?"

"I was, but make no mistake, I did call for you. Please prepare me some sake, and I am finished with these documents on my desk, with the exception of the one that I hold in my hand."

"Yes, ma'am." The woman nodded and went over to the large cabinet on the side of the room opposite Sakura, Naruto and Lee.

"Shizune really dislikes me…" Naruto muttered to the other two.

"This is because you seem to have a habit of causing trouble, Naruto." Lee returned.

Sakura nodded in agreement. The blonde crossed his arms, sulking. He didn't really want to talk much since Shizune was in the room.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the shattering of glass was heard.

Standing in the doorway was a woman holding both doors wide open with her arms. There was a dangerous, almost venomous smirk on her pale, angular visage, her chocolate eyes almost pinning Naruto to the spot with an intense, mercurial gaze. He realized that he had never seen this woman before. She was much more voluptuous than Sakura, with reasonably bigger breasts. She wore a black, scoop neck belly shirt, and a short necklace with what appeared to be a silver fang hanging above the neckline of the shirt. She obviously wore a long sleeved cancellus underneath because Naruto could see it peeking out from between it and her black miniskirt. She wore black fingerless gloves, and black thigh high boots. The woman also wore a grey trench coat with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing the long sleeves of her cancellus. Strapped to her back was a large black, green and white double-bladed battle axe. It was really quite eye catching.

"Oi! I'm here pretty late, huh?" Her smirk widened into a grin as she swaggered into the room, past Shizune who was frantically picking up pieces of glass and cleaning up spilled sake.

"Yes, you are late." Tsunade glowered at the woman.

"Heh, sorry. I came back from a mission early this morning, so I accidentally woke up late. Plus I had to clean and sharpen Haldana **[7]**  before I came."

Tsunade half groaned, half sighed in annoyance. "Everyone, this is Anko Mitarashi. She will be your squad leader for this mission."

Anko grinned. "Hey, kids."

Naruto and Sakura exchanged skeptical glances.

"I saw that." Anko trapped them with her burning gaze.

"As much as she may not seem like it, Anko is a very capable leader and I trust her greatly. Once she is on a mission she is completely goal-oriented."

"That's right." Anko agreed, still staring down Sakura and Naruto. "And if any of you somehow, by any means, slow us down, I will not hesitate to leave you behind." Her seriousness was sudden, but it didn't truly surprise Naruto. The look in her eyes was fierce, so even as she acted goofy and a bit clumsy, it seemed as though she was really a snake that was coiled to strike at any moment.

Tsunade shuffled some papers around on her desk, and traded Shizune those papers for some sake. Holding up one particular document, she spoke. "Your mission is to travel to Terra Ventus, and go to that country's capital city of Arena Vicus. Naruto, for your benefit, I'll say that the leader of the city, like me, is a Kage, but is called the Kazekage instead of Hokage."

Naruto nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed that she would have to say that for his sake.

"Anyhow, the mission concerns the Kazekage. You must hurry because he's in danger of having his power usurped, reason being that he is possessed by a demon. This is where Sakura comes in. She will exorcize the Kazekage of the demon and help him to recuperate afterward. Sakura," Tsunade directly addressed her pupil. "your most important job, even before exorcism, is the personal protection of the Kazekage. This particular part of the mission, for you, is in effect until he is back on his feet. Anko, Lee, and Naruto will work with the Kazekage's two siblings. Your jobs," Tsunade now addressed those she'd just mentioned. "will be to protect the Kazekage from the council and the elders, and help patrol the city borders. I understand that the Kazekage's elder sister, Temari, will be acting in the place of the Kazekage until Sakura deems him ready to return to his duties. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am." They replied in unison.

Anko took an official Vicus in Foliis ID from Tsunade, signifying that they were on an official mission. This would also serve as a passport.

"Do you all have everything you need?" Anko asked as she turned to the three teenagers.

"Yep!"

"Of course! Let's go!"

"Mhmm."

Anko looked at Sakura skeptically. "Hey, girl, you don't seem to have a weapon on you."

Sakura smiled sweetly—too sweetly. Naruto could practically see the time bomb ticking down the seconds to explosion.

"I assure you, miss, I have  _everything_  that I need—including a weapon."

Anko raised an eyebrow. "Really, now? You mean more than just your fists and those scary lookin' boots, there?"

Sakura's smile turned into a death glare. She had reached under her skirt and onto her hip, grabbing a paper out of some sort of pocket in her shorts. It unfurled, and immediately there was a large black mace in the girl's hands. But the startling things was that this all happened in little over a second.

She smirked. "Is this alright, or is this still not good enough? If it's not good enough, why don't you request that someone else be put on your squad?"

Anko grinned wickedly. "No, no, it's quite good."

"It's heavy so I don't keep it out for extended periods of time. I summon it when I need it." Sakura made a threatening fist. "Usually I don't, though."

"Hmm… No wonder you've never had a boyfriend. You're not only too manly; you're scary as well!" Anko laughed.

"Hey! Don't you dare talk to Sakura like that!" Naruto growled in a fury.

"Guys…" Tsunade growled. "I can always assign someone else for this mission if you four cannot get along." Tsunade glared at Anko. "Be the adult, Anko. You're more mature than this. Act like it."

Anko frowned, almost appearing guilty. "I apologize, ma'am. I got carried away teasing them. Oh, well. Since we're all ready, let's head out." Anko paused, though, for a moment, and glanced in Sakura's direction. "By the way, girly, I haven't had a boyfriend myself for the exact same reasons." Grinning, she hustled out the door with her long, grey trench coat billowing out behind her.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

Fatigue set in with each step that Naruto took. The foliage had become sparser, with tall, swaying grass making it difficult to journey quickly and efficiently to their first stopping point. Naruto wiped sweat off of his forehead, looking ahead in weary awe as Lee and Anko kept up a brisk pace, Lee even enthusiastically taking the lead. That kid both amused and amazed him to no end. Naruto looked back at Sakura.

"You doing okay? It's getting a little toasty."

Sakura glared at him. "I'm fine. I'm short so I'm having a hard time getting through all this grass…"

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Lee sure is amazing, huh? If my best friend was a genius like Neji, I could never be as driven as Lee is." Sakura sighed wistfully. "Maybe that's why I'm not really as strong as I could—or should—be."

"Why?"

"Because my rival isn't… She doesn't try as hard as I do. She used to, but now it's more like… I don't know. It's hard to explain."

Naruto nodded. He could say that he didn't know what it was like to have a rival. Ever since he came to Vicus in Foliis, he had simply been trying to prove himself to everyone.

"Look up ahead!" Anko shouted back at Naruto and Sakura. "It's the inn we're going to stay in tonight."

All it was, was a small, black speck on the horizon. They could hardly see it because the sun was setting behind them, and looking for this little black speck on this dark indigo backdrop was akin to looking for the silver among an abundance of nickel.

Sakura giggled, and Naruto looked at her. "What? What is it?"

"You're squinting really hard. It looks funny." She grinned.

"Yeah… Well…" Naruto laughed too. "I don't know. It's just hard to see that crappy little inn we're supposed to be sleeping at tonight. I just hope it has hot and cold water."

Sakura nodded emphatically. "Me too! The desert gets cold at night. If it doesn't have heat, we'll have to sleep in the same bed to warm up!"

Naruto glanced at her again, repulsed. But she laughed. "I'm just kidding! We'll probably be staying in separate rooms or something, anyway."

The blonde rolled his eyes, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. But it wasn't a very long walk at that point, for it was getting visibly closer each step they took. They hurried, though, because it was also becoming colder and darker.

Outwardly, the inn appeared to be a small, dilapidated wooden building, with many broken boards and beams.

Sakura leaned into Naruto, her breath tickling his neck. "We're staying in this piece of shit?"

"I guess…" Naruto breathed, a bit disgusted.

They headed inside with the others, to be met on the other side of the door by an alarmingly fat, greasy looking man.

"What bidniss ya'ave?" he groused in rough Pyroan.

"We need rooms. We will be staying the night." Anko replied.

The man turned and shuffled back behind the counter. He bent over and fumbled around for something, but soon stood and slammed 2 keys on the counter. He did not remove his hand from them.

"Fourteen jack."

Anko scowled, but handed over the requested amount of coin. In return he gave her the keys and sent them off with an aggressive wave of his hand.

"Pretty pricey for this dump..." Anko grumbled once the old man was out of earshot. "Anyway, Sakura, you're rooming with me, and Naruto and Lee are rooming together." She tossed them a key. "Let's all get a bit freshened up, then we'll meet in—" she checked her key for her room number. "Room number nine. You guys got it?"

The boys nodded, already headed toward their own room, number fourteen.

"Naruto!" Lee crowed as soon as the room was unlocked. "This is going to be so much fun! I cannot wait to enter the desert and fight bandits and unspeakable monsters and defend Arena Vicus and watch belly dancing and—"

"Lee." Naruto massaged the bridge of his nose. "You know, I plan on sleeping tonight, so do me a favor and calm your tits."

They had begun to peel off their sweat-stuck clothing, and Naruto had entered the bathroom and flicked on a light. Of course it didn't work. Light or no, he peed anyway. Beside him at the sink, Lee was fuming.

"I most certainly do  _not_  have these tits you speak of, Naruto!" He splashed water on his face, but was soon shoved away by Naruto so that the blonde could wash his hands.

"It's just an expression, dummy."

Lee lifted his head haughtily. "Well please refrain from referring to me in this feminine manner!"

Naruto laughed. "A little insecure about your masculinity? 'Cuz that's what it sounds like!"

"I most certainly am not!" Lee snarled, his eyes flashing menacingly.

"Are you sure?" The blonde leaned in closely, almost seductively. "Ya know… I'm pretty sure –this—guy—here," Naruto poked Lee in the chest with each word. "has  _never_  had a girlfriend."

At the sudden look of murder in Lee's eyes, Naruto knew a second too late that he had gone too far. He sped out of their room in his half dressed state with Lee close on his heels, and he threw himself against the door of room number nine.

"Sakura!" He screamed, his voice a pitch above where it should be.

Just as the door opened, Lee collided into Naruto's back and they both came crashing into the room together—right on top of Sakura. The three were still in a tangled mess when Anko came upon them, looming with one manicured eyebrow raised in question.

"Uh…" Sakura detangled herself from the rabble and stood, awkwardly brushing herself off.

Naruto and Lee just kept on laughing—that is, until Sakura came behind them and smacked them both in the back of the head.

Naruto glared. "Sakura…"

"What children…"

"Okay, okay," Anko expressed a faint smirk at these youths' shenanigans. "Gather round kids."

Everyone assembled themselves so that they sat around Anko on the floor, and they set their minds to the task at hand.

"Okay," she began. "Tomorrow at some point—most likely before noon if we leave early enough—we will enter the desert." Anko's manner had become quite serious, and she dragged her intense gaze slowly across each person: from Naruto, to Sakura, to Lee. "This is going to be a long, difficult journey. Food and water is scarce, so we must ration what we have until we enter another town. There are two oases along the way to Arena Vicus, one of which has a larger town than the other. Understand so far?"

They nodded.

"Now, there will be bandits and other foul beings along the way. These creatures—excluding the bandits—are truly perversions of nature, the likes of which you have never seen before. Nevertheless, it's the bandits you've got to worry about." Naruto sensed the mood becoming ominous. "Do not assume that every single one you encounter is just a petty thief. Do not start fights with people. If they're looking for a fight, don't take the bait. At the moment, there are two large clans of bandits who are warring for control over the desert. The Kazekage has managed to keep them away from Arena Vicus, but since he is currently incapacitated, the capital stands vulnerable. It is imperative that you not get involved with those bandits. Think of them as being involved in a mafia war, except that it takes place in a desert, rather than a city."

"I have a question." Sakura interjected.

"Yes?"

"Don't the people in Terra Ventus speak a different language?"

Anko laughed. "Not a problem. You know two languages, don't you?"

"Well I know four, but yes?" Sakura answered.

Anko chuckled again. "Of course, because you also know the two elfish dialects… But you also know Pyroan **[8]** , our native language. And you went to school, so you also know another very special language, called Latin. It is special because it is a language that is considered "dead", since no country speaks it—natively, at least—any longer. The countries that spoke Latin don't exist today, and haven't for many, many years—even before The End. Anyway, those in Terra Ventus speak a language called Anapnoi **[9]**. Like us, all of those who are educated speak Latin. It's like that in all countries. Make sense?"

Sakura nodded vigorously.

"Wow, Sakura!" Lee exclaimed. "I never would have thought to ask that question!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Well, it's kind of important for us to be able to communicate, ya know."

Anko chuckled. "Anyway… I guess we'll see you boys bright and early tomorrow morning!"

Naruto and Lee said goodnight, then took their leave of the women. Back in their rooms, Naruto flopped onto his bed with a dull thump.

"The world is… way stranger than I imagined."

Lee shrugged. "Just how much of the world have you seen?"

"Well… I've always been moving, ever since I can remember. But I never really interacted with anyone where we went, so I didn't know much about where I was, or even when we left one country into another." The blonde sighed wistfully. It was probably one of the only things that he regretted about his time with Kurama.

"Well," Lee appeared to be thinking deeply. "I suppose… If someone like you were to understand the world, then I think that the world would be full of imbeciles."

It took a second for Naruto to actually get it. But when he did, he playfully threw his pillow at Lee, shouting, "Hey!"

Grinning, Lee threw Naruto's pillow back at him, and the blonde stuck his tongue out.

"Go to sleep, Naruto."

"Yes, Mother."

Naruto closed his eyes, hearing Lee huff. The blonde smiled and turned over, allowing the sweet, calm darkness of slumber to wash over him.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

That night again, Naruto dreamt of that place; so full of sunshine, the smell of forest and the roar of an angry sea. Now Naruto knew what to do. He traveled without hesitation down the boardwalk and up the steps, high into the clouds.

Sure enough, he found his haughty, red haired master sitting not far off from the top of the stair case. He appeared to be in deep meditation.

A wave of childish mischief came over Naruto, and he carefully tip toed behind Kurama, ready to pounce.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you."

Naruto drooped like a scolded puppy. "No fair. I was so quiet!"

Kurama turned to face the blonde with a pointed look, and then he leaned back into a pile of white fluff.

Eventually, Naruto asked, "…Why am I here again? I fell asleep, right? Is this a dream? But wait—if this is a dream, why am I asking you?" His brain was beginning to feel like it might explode.

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Obviously, you, being the dim-witted human you are, didn't understand when I told you last time. I transferred my spirit into yours, so now I am essentially living inside you. I see everything you do, and hear everything that you think."

"…So…" Naruto struggled to comprehend his situation. "You are… I'm not dreaming?"

"No."

"Oh! Wait. This is… pretty creepy. I mean, you can see when I piss, or hear my perverted thoughts… and worse!" But suddenly, the blonde's face lit up in smug excitement. "Can I tap into your powers to become stronger?"

The fox scowled. "Of course not, fool. Even if you were on the brink of death, our powers are separate from each other. Understand, my spirit is inside your spirit, but as a separate entity. Are we clear?"

"Yeah… I guess… Somewhat…"

"Ugh." Kurama rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, I called you here because—"

"You called me here?"

Kurama positively radiated bloody murder. "Naruto…" he growled softly.

The blonde gulped, squeaking out an apology.

"As I was saying," Kurama bit out softly through clenched teeth. "I called you here because you are about to go on a very dangerous journey. You are not taking Anko's warning about the bandits seriously enough. You must take great care when you enter the desert. The desert in Terra Ventus is one of the most dangerous places in the world, climate and otherwise."

"…And otherwise?"

Kurama nodded. "That is all." He dismissed the blonde with an arrogant wave of his hand. "Sleep."

* * *

**_A/N:_ **

**_1) Cancellus: Latin for lattice, bars, barrier, enclosure, boundaries, enclosure_ **

**_2) Donovan: Pronounced DAH-na-vun. Irish/Gaelic meaning: dark; brown-haired chieftain. American meaning: strong fighter_ **

**_3) Maeve: Pronounced MAY-vee. Original form: Meadhbh. Of Celtic origin; meaning – "intoxicating". The powerful and legendary warrior queen of pre-Christian Ireland; described in the "Tain" as tall & fair & carrying an iron sword._ **

**_4) Armyne: Pronounced ar-MEEN; variant of Armine; meaning – "soldier"._ **

**_5) The Heavenly Cup: My favorite town coffee shop. I'm pretty sure it's not a chain._ **

**_6) Terra Fluctus: The Land of Waves in Latin. I'm not sure if/when it will be included. And I realize it's geologically wrong in comparison to the show/manga. Maybe I purposefully did that. This ain't your teen mama's Naruto._ **

**_7) Haldana: The name of Anko's double bladed battle axe. It's a girl's name. It's of Old Norse origin, and it means "Half Danish". In ancient Britain, the Danes were fierce and frequent invaders. This is also a bit of homage to Denmark of Hetalia :) He is very loud and fierce and boisterous, and he carries an axe as well._ **

**_8) Pyroan: Otherwise, pyro, or fire. Basically, they speak Greek. I just picked this word because it works... Ya know... Terra Ignis/Land of Fire... Pyro... Yeah. :P_ **

**_9) Anapnoi: The people in the Terra Ventus speak Arabic. I translated (using Google translate :P) the word "breath" from English, to Arabic, to Greek, and this is the phonetic spelling of the word. I will always spell things like that phonetically. Ironically, "Pyro" for "Pyroan" is exactly how it looks phonetic or not. :P_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to check my profile for updates :) PLEASE REVIEW so I know how I'm doing! :)
> 
> (8 May, 2013) I just got this chapter re-edited! :) I will gradually be editing more of my work, but my main focus is to write and upload (with all of my initial editing, of course. I don't just not edit it. Don't get me wrong :P) chapters. Again, review, and check my profile for updates, yeah? ;) I have everything I'm working on with the progress of each on my profile, so just look to that!


	4. III - Forest and Desert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Prologue.
> 
> WARNING: This story is now with an E rating. E rating in this chapter for description of gore and violence (mostly just in the beginning)
> 
> Sorry this took forever to get out o.o Really, I feel terrible about it... Ugh. Oh well... It's out now, and things are moving along :)
> 
> Narutopokefan: I'm glad you like it :) And you may have to wait a while for the legit, assigned mission to start XD There's gonna be a few bumps in the road... :D

Anger bubbled and boiled in his veins like a raging demon. Hugging his worn, tattered cloak about him, Sasuke attempted to quell his internal storm with thoughts of blood pooling rapidly around a certain man's body. He imagined the crimson life leaping out to the rapid beating of the man's heart, the flow gradually lessening as he gives himself up to the inky cloaked figure of Death. Sasuke sucked in a shuddering gulp of icy morning air. He was nearly at shore.

Sasuke's small boat crept silently through the damp mists that clung to his skin, as stiflingly close as the souls press to one another in the River Phlegathon. Entering the thicker, murkier waters of an estuary, he determined that he could hide his craft on the shoreline in the tall grasses without being spotted. Sasuke almost scoffed. This was too easy. Stepping out of the boat, his feet sunk into muddy mire, and he slipped a bit as he pushed and shoved his boat onto something resembling more solid land.

Sasuke listened hard, straining to his ears to hear  _something_ through the thick silence. Being that he was in Regionem Aves, it was much too quiet for his liking.

Sasuke continued to take careful, almost hesitant steps onto firmer, drier land, all the while scanning his surroundings suspiciously. His hand slipping on to the hilt of his rapier, he fully realized just how reckless this was. Honestly, Sasuke didn't even know where to begin looking for the hideout. Maybe he could ambush a lookout or something, and have him lead Sasuke to the hideout. None of it really mattered in the long run. He would have his revenge, no matter the cost.

Creeping along the brush underneath some very large, thickly rooted trees, Sasuke paused for a moment. His eyes had to become more accustomed to the misty darkness of the forest before he could continue on. Unfortunately, he realized too late that he should have kept moving. A thunderous roar echoed through the tree tops, and he felt rather than heard something quite large land near him. Sasuke whipped around, rapier in hand, prepared to thrust it deep into the flesh of whatever manner of beast this was.

But this beast (a simple wildcat, as it were) was cut down before Sasuke had the chance to make a move. A tall, cloaked figure had descended from the tree tops, viciously slicing the animal in half with a long sword. Sasuke bristled as the figure, with his back to the young man, began to leisurely wipe the blood off of his blade.

Irritated at being ignored for well over a minuted, Sasuke called out, "Hey!" He became even more irritated by the lack of resolve he heard in his voice.

The figure turned around slowly, sheathing his long sword upon his back. Sasuke caught a glimpse under the hood of the cloak, of what appeared to be some sort of mask.

"Found you."

It was done before Sasuke had even realized what was happening.  _Heh, so much for my Sharingan_ , he thought bitterly. He felt the cold steel being ripped out of his body, and he fell to the ground, his belly suddenly feeling very warm and damp.

He shivered. _Damn, it's cold._

The figure leaned languidly against a tree. "You're lucky, you know," He mused, seeming unconcerned with Sasuke. "I was ordered by the boss not to kill you." He chuckled. "You're not worth killing anyway."

Sasuke snarled with rage, flinging himself at the man.  _How dare he! How_ dare _he! What right does he—_ the man didn't really even move much. He kicked Sasuke right back into the dirt.

"Come on, kid. You got a hole in your gut. Don't you think you should get that checked out?" Sasuke could tell that the man was smiling behind that mask, and he was positively burning with rage.

A hand was thrust out at Sasuke, and as though he had received a particularly hard shove, he was sent flying into a tree. He struggled and grunted in frustration, but it was to no avail. He reluctantly found that he could not move.

The cloaked man shrugged. "Orders are orders, kid. I can't have you die on my watch, or I'd get into some pretty big trouble. But… don't look at it as though I'm saving you."

The man picked Sasuke up by the collar and dragged him to the vessel he had thought was so well hidden. Sasuke would never admit it, but he was ashamed of himself. He had known that it would be hard, but  _this_  hard? He had totally underestimated his opponents, and he had been made a fool of.  _He was not this weak_.

The man was pushing him out into the Sea of Bandits. Sasuke vaguely heard that he was putting a spell on the boat, causing it to go North and approximately fifteen degrees East, to the Port of Ari **[1]**  in Terra Ventus. He also heard the man say that the binding spell would be off in about six hours. Frankly, Sasuke didn't give a damn. He was becoming dizzy with blood loss at this point, and the world was becoming a hazy opium den. He had to become stronger. He had to, at all costs.

Besides, it was alright that he was headed to Terra Ventus. From there he could go back  _home_. Even in his mind, the word felt foreign, because it wasn't really his home anymore. But it was almost  _that_ day. So he would go back to Vicus in Foliis, just for them.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

"Yes, I know we still need to keep him under watch. But Naruto has immense potential. I feel as though we are keeping him from becoming something… magnificent."

Tsunade sat in a dimly lit booth within a rather dimly lit bar. Her pale fingers were interlaced under her chin as she gazed inquisitively at her conversation partner.

"I'm well aware," she nodded to the waiter who dropped off their appetizer. "but that is precisely why I have had him sent on this mission. We need to see just how far we can trust this boy. I already know everyone in the village, including you, Iruka, loves him. I am quite attached to him, myself. But—"

"I understand." He cut Tsunade off, holding up a hand. "We have to just wait and see how things turn out. I understand."

They were quiet for a while, but Tsunade was thinking. Something had been bothering her now for a while. She had already voiced her concerns to one of her oldest and dearest friends, but he had brushed them off as the worries of a warrior queen growing soft with age.

"Iruka…" she began tentatively. "I haven't been sleeping well at night since… well, since we took Naruto in and sealed the demon away. Of course he's escaped just yesterday, but this is something that has been bothering me for three years, now." She rubbed her forehead in frustration, hoping that perhaps Iruka would listen to her.

_Tch. Ironic as it is, I am the sisnelalmo melwa mahtartaari **[2]** , yet even so, people often do not treat me with due respect…_

"What is it, Lady Tsunade?" Iruka replied in between mouthfuls of dripping meat. "You seem troubled."

Tsunade smiled and with a motherly hand, wiped some brown sauce off of his tan cheek. "I am a bit troubled, hína **[3]**." She took a sip of sake, preparing herself to be shot down again. "I've been wondering… What if that fox demon actually cared for Naruto?" Iruka looked at her blankly, clearly more than a bit shocked, and quickly Tsunade added, "Well, he seemed so…  _concerned_  about Naruto! He wanted the boy to be trained properly and to be well taken care of, and the demon even begged for his freedom when we were talking of taking him in for questioning. It makes sense, Iruka."

"He is a monster!" he hissed.

"Just because he is not a man in form doesn't mean he is a monster! I would wager—if I were correct in my assumption of how he feels about Naruto of course—that he is one of those spirits or demons that is neither evil nor good, yet does what he pleases and holds allegiance to no one. One could say they are simply acting for their own gain, interests or entertainment."

"Then how does Naruto play into all of this?"

"I don't know."

"I still say he is a monster... You don't—you wouldn't understand!" Iruka cried with sudden fervor. "You have lived in peace with your kind for centuries and yet... This huge whale-turtle-monster-thing, with demonic energy not unlike that fox's, comes to attack my people! He left us nothing, except in a few cases, our lives. Believe me, that was more like a curse at that point. These are inhuman monsters who cannot comprehend things like morals, pain, loss, or love." Iruka deflated, putting his head in his hands with a large sigh.

_I wouldst that he would have lived in our lands during the War of Fire and the Grokhagdum Wars,_ Tsunade thought resentfully. "If you hate things that aren't in a human form naturally, you must truly loathe yourself."

It had come out in the heat of the moment. She hadn't really meant it. She could see the shock and hurt on Iruka's face, and immediately Tsunade regretted what she'd said. Normally, she'd never have said such a foolish and thoughtless thing. The alcohol, it must have been—

"My lady, I was told that you would be here." A man stood next to her outside of the booth. For a moment, both Iruka's and Tsunade's attention were diverted from their conversation. "I have a message for you."

"Perfect. Thank you, you may go." She smiled kindly at the man. He handed her a piece of rolled parchment and left.

She scanned over it. Her eyes widened. It was coded—in her own language! Well, everything except for the codename at the bottom:  _Ímisy **[4]**_.

"Iruka…"

"Hm?" he regarded her moodily from beyond the rim of his water glass.

"We're leaving." She stood immediately and threw some coins onto the table—more than enough for what they had ordered.

"Wh-what?" Iruka followed after her in obvious befuddlement. "What's going on?"

"We're going to the Scorched Elm Tree. This message," Tsunade held it up so the man behind her could see. "is in my own language, and yet it is coded. No one here will be able to figure it out. And the one who sent this requires that we make all haste in decoding it. If he went this far to keep this message a secret," she muttered to herself, "it  _must_ be about  _that_. He must have found something."

* * *

_.x.x.x.x._

* * *

It was about midday. The farther they walked, the hotter it got. Naruto knew it was stupid, but he somehow felt relieved that the border was in sight—as if he could find respite from the heat by crossing into Terra Ventus. But he knew it would only get hotter from here on out.

Lee fell into step with the blonde, a barely contained grin creeping onto his face.

"So do you think Anko was telling the truth about sand serpents?" he asked excitedly.

Naruto gave a short bark of laughter, not bothering to suppress his obnoxious grin. "I dunno. But if she was, this is gonna be an awesome adventure-like-thing!"

Sakura gave a groan of annoyance from in front of them, and the boys snickered.

"Oi! Anko! What brings you all the way out here?" One of the border patrolmen casually inquired of Anko.

Anko tipped her head in the direction of the three youths. "I'm bringing these guys on a mission to Terra Ventus. But the mission's kind of a secret. Sorry."

The man laughed, glancing but not really looking at Anko's ID. "Ya sure sound sorry! I feel so left out… Well, hopefully I'll be seeing you."

After they had passed, Sakura rubbed her arms, inching closer to Naruto. "How morbid… It's like they're saying she might not come back."

Naruto shrugged. "But that's how it is, right? You do stuff like this, and sometimes, you just die. That's life. But it's not a bad thing…at least I don't think it is."

"How carefree…" was the grumpy reply.

" _You_  need to loosen up, ma'am." Naruto poked Sakura's cheek.

She giggled.

Since they had passed through the border, the terrain around them hadn't changed much. What  _had_  changed was the atmosphere. Everyone was now on a higher alert for even the whisper of danger.

Minutes passed into hours as they travelled deeper into foreign soil. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, it was becoming warmer. The grasses were gradually receding and their surroundings began to take on a beach-like appearance of sand, gravel, and tall weeds and brambles. Sakura was fanning herself. Anko shaded her eyes, peering towards the horizon.

"Hey," began the pinkette rather suddenly. "Do you have a map? I haven't seen you take one out even once."

Anko turned back at her with a sly smile. She tapped her head twice with her forefinger, and that was all.

Needless to say, Sakura didn't look very pleased with that answer.

There were no trees anymore. There was also no more gravel. Here and there was a speck of vegetation—usually dead—but mostly their surroundings were tan; dull, constant tan. As Naruto looked ahead, he could see a wall of blue pressing down tightly on a bumpy wall of tan. As of now, their path was reasonably flat. But soon, they would have to struggle up and over those large and imposing dunes.  _From here,_ Naruto thought,  _they look like mountains._  The ground had indeed begun to slope upwards here and there, and the wind would sometimes smack Naruto in the face and eyes with projectile grains of sand.

"Look!" Lee called excitedly.

The barren wasteland was perhaps not so barren after all. Shrouded in the shimmering heat waves, a large caravan of camels marched proudly past the group, approximately one and one half kilometers away. It had at least twelve people—some riding the camels, some leading them. Lee and Naruto waved animatedly, and what seemed to be the figure of a woman with a stately appearance, waved back from upon her camel in an almost regal manner. It seemed so surreal. The caravan was getting rather far off, and the group soon lost sight of them.

The first dunes they had crossed hadn't been that large. To elucidate, they were really like small hills—about ten to fifteen meters high. But the act of climbing them was like swimming against the current, and each dune seemed bigger than the last. It was torturously slow progress. Soon, Naruto and the others were down, struggling on all fours to claw their way through the sifting sand. With hands and faces scratched by sand, they made it to the top of the first mountain-like sand dune, and slid carefully down.  _Obviously,_   _we can't just go around these things,_  Naruto lamented. … _While we were on the top of that last dune, I saw that going around them would take just as long, if not longer than this freaking "dune climbing" or whatever the hell this is._ As they began the slow, painful climb of the next dune, Naruto gritted his teeth. His face burned. The sand reflected the heat from the sun, and seeing all of the heat waves rising around him made him feel as though he were baking. His hands were burned and bleeding, and he began inwardly cursing the gloves that he habitually wore because they were fingerless. It had been approximately eight hours since they had set out.

Naruto suddenly bumped into Lee.

"Hey! Bushy Brow, what the hell?"

"Shh!" Lee's vehement shushing effectively quieted Naruto, and put him on alert.

"What's going on?" the blonde whispered, crawling up next to his friend.

"Be still. Feel it underneath you."

Utterly confused, Naruto stilled, and closed his eyes so that he might "feel" whatever the hell Lee was talking about. Through his scorched hands and baking knees, he sensed the sand shifting beneath him in a strange way. It almost felt like a mini earthquake.

"Woah!" Naruto yelled in a moment of realization. "This is—"

Lee tackled him, urgently covering his mouth and "shushing" him again.

"Sorry," Naruto winced, "This is awesome!" He exclaimed gleefully. "I've never felt an earthquake before!"

Lee shook his head vigorously. "Naruto… remember those serpents in the desert Anko told us about?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Like I believe that crazy bitch. I bet it's just a—"

A terrifying noise, louder than thunder, bit through Naruto's ear drums and left them ringing as though in the wake of gun fire. He was dizzy—his equilibrium was off—and he knew Anko's mouth was moving. She was frantic; the look in her eyes had become crazed. Naruto couldn't make out anyone else around. He felt himself being jerked forward, and suddenly, he felt as though he were flying.

There was a muffled noise near him. He tried to see what was making the noise but at the time, he was already having a difficult time remaining conscious. Then he heard it again. It was definitely a word of some sort. Anko kept jerking him forward and, fuzzily but surely, it came to him.

"Naruto!"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"We have to run! The others are way ahead of us!"

"Why? What is it?" Naruto turned around, curious as to what manner of beast they were running from.

Suddenly, he found himself facing a large row of very sharp-looking teeth, and he barely managed to dive out of the way before they snapped at him.

"What the fuck is that?!"

Golden eyes glinted dangerously in the sunlight, and a large serpentine neck rose, coiling as though preparing to strike. Naruto whipped out his claymore, and before the beast could strike, the boy had leapt into the air and swung his sword in a deadly arc, intending to fatally wound the serpent, if not completely decapitate it.

"Naruto!" Anko screamed. "Stop! You can't beat it!"

"Tch." The monster was much tougher than the silken, brick red hairs on its scales suggested. Naruto almost slapped himself.  _Scales_. Hopping away to a safer distance, Naruto sheathed his sword and pulled out the lighter blades that were sheathed on his hips. The serpent was at least disoriented by his blow. He would just have to use that. So before the sand serpent could attack again, he made his move.

"Ourliázontas aéra **[5]**!"

His two swords hummed and vibrated together hungrily, the wind quickly gathering around the blades. Naruto lashed out, and the wind roared angrily into the serpent's neck. But all there was to show for it was a damp looking "X".

"Damn it!"

The beast roared again, and Naruto covered his ears to try and muffle the deafening sound a bit. The mixture of high and low frequency waves made him want to vomit. He staggered, struggling to remain standing, but the serpent was lunging at him again. He darted around the huge, saw-like teeth, however it was impossible to dodge completely. He was hit hard enough to be knocked off balance, but he hit the ground rolling to avoid another strike. Naruto leapt into the air. That had been enough time to focus additional energy for more a potent spell.

"Iródis ton drákon **[6]**!" he cried, swords ripping through the air.

The serpent screeched in pain, its head whipping violently to and fro. Naruto's blonde hair was slowly becoming a dull rust color from a singular red rain pouring from above.

"Naruto!"

The sand serpent loosed one last mighty howl and dove back into the dunes from whence it came. It would probably die there.

The blonde loosed a growl of frustration. "Damn it! It got away!"

"Naruto!"

Said man was then bowled over by a force of two people. It sort of brought him back to reality.

"Damn you, Naruto!" Sakura screamed into his jacket. "You're so fucking reckless!" She clung onto him as though she would die if she let go.

"Really, Naruto." Lee gazed at him, appearing concerned. "Please, don't be so hasty! Sakura was so worried about you! And you could have been killed!" he shook his head with very evident disappointment. "If I had known you were going to do that, I could have helped you…"

"Yeah well..." Naruto stood up, smiling. "I got rid of it, didn't I?" his smile extended into a broad grin.

Just then, a sharp pain filled the back of Naruto's head. He turned around, glaring into the murderous gaze of Anko.

"Just what do you think you were doing, you damn brat?" Her voice was deathly calm. It was terrifying.

"Um…" Naruto stammered, wide-eyed. "I—uh—I just—"

She roughly grabbed his collar and tugged him closer, so that their faces were barely an inch apart.

"Can't answer, boy? Maybe I should just tell the Hokage that you're not ready for shit like this." Anko shoved him away, and he landed awkwardly on his backside in the sand. "If I tell you to do something, you damn well better do it. You know, I just thought that sort of thing was common sense, but maybe it isn't for a little street urchin like you."

"Anko, isn't that enough?" Lee murmured petulantly.

"It's enough when I damn well say it's enough!" Anko snapped back at him.

Naruto got up and dusted himself off.

"Hey! I'm not done with you yet, kid!"

"We were going this way, right?" Naruto inquired. "I seem to remember the sun facing in that direction when we—"

"Dammit! Why won't you listen!"

"Anko!"

"Enough!" Sakura and Lee cried in unison.

It made Naruto smiled a bit on the inside. He was grateful that at least he had some people that he could call true friends… Actually, he had a lot, now. This thought allowed that smile to make its way onto his lips.  _But_ , he reflected despondently,  _I can never tell anyone about Kurama… They'll take me in for sure… I don't know what they'll do to me to try and get him outta me… Is that even possible? Besides… I don't want him to die._

"What is that?" Lee gasped.

Behind them, there was a big yellow cloud.  _A sandstorm? No… A dust cloud. But... wait…_

The closer it got, the clearer it became—and the louder it became. There were horses—lots of them—at full gallop and coming right at them.

"Oh!" Lee exclaimed excitedly. "Are they here to meet us?"

"Don't think so." Said Anko. "We have to hide. Let's just watch them, 'kay?"

The rest of the group nodded. Safely concealed, they observed a rowdy group riding by, swinging their swords in the air and yelling and crying out joyfully as though they were riding into battle. There had to be, at the very least, thirty of them.

When they were out of sight, Anko gestured for the three others to come closer.

"So, did anyone notice anything?"

"They were headed in the direction of Void Village, right?" Sakura tentatively asked.

Anko nodded. "Right, which is exactly where we happen to be going. I recognized one of them… the leader." Her visage became troubled. "I can't remember exactly what his name was, though…"

"Aw, what does it matter?" Naruto cried. "Let's get going!"

"Those guys looked like bad news." Lee agreed. "That village might be in trouble!"

"Guys! We can't get involved in things like this!" Anko argued. "We have to get to Arena Vicus as quickly as possible. This is their problem to handle once the Kazekage is back in his position."

"Forget it."

Naruto had begun climbing another dune. They were beginning to get smaller. It was still rough work, but as evening closed in, it was becoming cooler, so it wasn't so bad. Slowly, the others began to follow him.

"Don't worry, Naruto." Sakura called up to him. "We'll see if there's something we can do."

"Yeah!" Lee exclaimed eagerly. "We can't pass up someone in need—especially a whole village!"

"Just assuming they really are in need…" Muttered Anko.

It was just beyond the horizon. With the sun at their backs, they set out to Void Town. Although, that town already lay in darkness. _  
_

* * *

_.x.x.x.x._

* * *

"Quickly, prepare an envoy for the Lady Hokage."

This elderly man had been fussing over Tsunade for a while now, after he had been notified that she was leaving for Scorched Elm Tree.

"That will not be necessary, Homura." Tsunade stopped the men who were just leaving the office to carry out the orders. "I will travel with Iruka."

"No you will not!" Homura growled crossly. "I don't care if you're the Hokage, or the queen of the world. You will cease to show such a blatant disregard for your safety and for the elders of this village!"

The Hokage closed her eyes and sighed. For a long time, she remained silent.

Finally, she opened her eyes and spoke in a low murmur. "Do you doubt my capabilities, old man? If you doubt my power as Hokage or as a queen, I shall show you, one on one, just how wrong you are to do so."

Homura did not look frightened—that much could be said of him. But after that terse warning, he did grudgingly back off. "My apologies, my lady; it will be as you wish it."

"We will be taking our leave, then." Tsunade turned on her heel and stalked out of her office. Once they were outside the building, she rolled her eyes at Iruka and grumbled, "Honestly, that old coot must think I'm above using Black Magic at an urgent time like this!"

"What!?" A shocked Iruka stopped in his tracks. "Black Magic?"

"Why, Iruka," Tsunade stopped as well, arching an eyebrow at him challengingly. "I know you tend to be a stick in the mud, but I never knew you for being a scaredy cat."

Iruka scowled, growling something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, ma'am…"

The pair walked back behind the building, in the direction of the Hokage shrines. A forest gradually began to overtake their path.

"Where are we going?" Iruka inquired.

Tsunade didn't reply. She was searching for the right spot. She required a large enough area between the trees in order to create her transportation spell.

"Ah," she muttered to herself. "Here."

Tsunade kneeled in the grass, and, drawing a small pocket knife, she sliced her palm open so that her blood flowed with reasonable ease, although not too freely. With this makeshift ink, she drew a large circle in the grass. On the northern most side, an "N" was drawn outside the circumference signifying North. In the middle of the circle, she drew a roman numeral two. Then, she drew a straight line stemming from the Roman numeral to the perimeter of the circle, forty degrees Southeast. Lastly, on the outside of the circle, and at the end of that line, the number three hundred-fifty was written.

"Alright, Iruka," Tsunade stood up and casually waved two fingers over the cut in her hand, healing it. She wiped excess blood onto her green cloak and inquired, "Have you ever seen this before?"

Iruka shook his head with a somewhat perplexed expression.

"Alright. It's a simple spell. You should know this, in case you ever need it. We're in a hurry, but I'll briefly go over how to draw it. You draw it in blood, as you saw. There are no exact parameters for the circle, but it has to look like a circle and fit you inside it. I wrote the Roman numeral two inside because there will be two of us. The "N" is important because it gives the spell a compass—a sense of direction, you might say. Then the line from the two is the direction in which we a travelling. Be precise about it. The number outside and at the end of the line is how far the spell will take us, measured in kilometers. It's simple, we can go over it later if you like." Tsunade took a breath. "Now, step in here, and we'll leave."

Iruka stood still, though, staring at the spell uncomfortably.

"Come on!" Tsunade shoved him into the circle. "No one is looking!"

Once she herself was in the circle, she took a deep breath and cleared her mind. Stretching out her hands, she closed her eyes to limit distractions and began.

"Ambar ar Menel. Ëar ar Vista. I súrër colmet mettanatasainnar." **[7]**

Tsunade scrunched her eyes shut a bit tighter, as the wind began whipping loose strands of straw colored hair around her face. Behind her eyelids, she saw a bright green flash flare up then die down. After a moment, she opened her eyes. She turned to Iruka and had to force her laughter into some strange sounding choking noises. Iruka's eyes were scrunched shut, his visage drawn tightly in fear and anxiety. His body was completely taught like a bow string, as though he were preparing to be shot off into the distance. Cautiously opening his eyes, he quickly regained his senses enough to glare at her.

She snorted, already walking away to hide a gigantic grin. "Let's get going."

They were deep in a forest at this point. The trunks of all of these trees were vast, and the largest could sit on two and a half city blocks. The large, dark green leaves were just beginning to pale, or in some cases, darken to a rich brown or auburn color. It was early fall, and the sound of cicadas filled the air.

They were following a clear, shallow brook that ran downstream at their right. It was almost too quiet to be heard. Occasionally, a slender white fish would leap out of the water in imitation of the great orca or dolphin of the deep blue. Gradually, structures resembling earthen homes began to appear in the lining of the trees around them. They were really mostly abandoned—left by their owners for better quality housing closer to the city. But soon, they came upon the first dwelling supported by the strong boughs of the trees. Here and there, there were wood and rope bridges built to act as walk ways in the canopies. It was like a neighborhood in the sky.

Needless to say, Iruka was astounded. To keep him from slowing down, Tsunade had to resort to taking his hand and dragging him as though he were a child. She would be spotted soon, as the area became more densely populated, and she dreaded that moment. The forest itself was still around them, but the trees which were inhabited were becoming more and more numerous. As they headed toward the city, it would only become more densely populated.

A movement across the river, out of the corner of Tsunade's eye, made her pause. When she heard a gasp, she cringed.

"Se pelna! **[8]** "

Someone swung open a door built into a gargantuan and quite ancient looking tree, right next to Iruka, making him jump.

"Menyë melwa Mahtartaari! **[9]** "

Tsunade flashed a blinding smile while quickening her pace. More and more elves were coming out of the woodwork (in a manner of speaking). But the pair was already bustling into the city. More moss eaten stone structures and perhaps a few marble structures littered the market, and the peddlers and shopkeepers were throwing up their windows and crying out,

"Aiya Tsunade Elenion Ancalima! **[10]** "

"Anda Cuio tári! **[11]** "

"Alcarin Rahun! Elyë na oa andavë! **[12]** "

"Quickly," Tsunade murmured. "If we let them mob us, they might accidentally kill us. There are no guards… nothing! I cannot defend myself against civilians…"

Iruka hustled to keep pace with her, half jogging through the cobbled streets of the city. Weaving in and out of vendors, street performers, and citizens, Tsunade came to an extremely sudden halt in front of a vast, white marble wall. Rather, it was a castle.

"Arphenion!" Tsunade projected her voice up to the top of the wall with a charm. "It is I! I have another with me as my important guest!"

She stood there for a moment, waiting. The crowd was pressing in. It was becoming a bit too stifling, and she would probably need to step out of the rabble to breathe soon.

"Arphenion! Art thou above or not!"

"Yes, yes, milady!" A gruff voice replied. "My humble apologies, and welcome home, our queen! The drawbridge is being opened anon!"

"Tch… Anon, indeed… I cannot breathe any longer!" Tsunade muttered under her breath. Iruka looked at her questioningly, and she gave him a small smile.  _Of course— he doth not perceive what we speak… It must be quite uncomfortable._

Arphenion was true to his word, and the drawbridge was lowered, even as the crowd pressed Tsunade and Iruka to it. Tall, slender men in armor possessing large shields and spears immediately barricaded the orifice, allowing Tsunade and Iruka to just barely slip past them. Iruka sidled up to Tsunade, a look of concern passing over his visage.

Tsunade smiled kindly. "Now listen. The worst is over, for you."

"Ah—milady! Thou art back!" A small girl, who looked to be about fourteen, stammered at the floor. She was beautiful, in a very short, loose fitting white tunic and a white cloth wrapped around her waist as well, hanging down to mid thigh. She possessed a dark, charcoal grey skin tone and long, and flowing silver hair that shimmered like the stars in the sky. "I—uh—thou—" The girl forwent words and, in an obvious panic, fell to her knees and audibly slammed her forehead onto the white marble floor. Tsunade sighed sympathetically. Slowly, she got on her knees as well beside the girl. She knew she really didn't have time for this, but this girl… This girl  _specifically_  was her responsibility. She had taken her in after a horde of goblins ransacked a Drow city in the Underdark. She had been treated badly there, anyway, because she was not fully a Drow. And at the time, she had only been a child. So Tsunade had taken her in. But here, the girl was ridiculed worse than the Sindarin speakers were. The Drow was a violently hated race among all surface elves, and sometimes, Tsunade had wondered if she had done the poor thing wrong by allowing her to live.

"Maylara **[13]** , please look at me." Tsunade requested gently in shaky Drow. With large, hesitant violet eyes, she peered up at Tsunade. "Maylara," Tsunade was now condescending. "look at me. I'm in a hurry and I require assistance. It's important. Do you understand?"

Slowly, those startled rabbit eyes shifted to look into Tsunade's own amber eyes. "Re—really?"

"Yes. My friend here is a very important guest of mine. But for right now, I just need someone to show him to a nice room… one of the better ones. And, Maylara, you'll need to work some magic on the tub." Tsunade glanced nervously at Iruka, worried that he might perceive the direction of their conversation. "It's a secret, okay? But Iruka is a merman… **[14]** _"_

Maylara's eyes widened to an extent that actually made the blonde woman worry a bit, but thankfully she regained her composure. She timidly padded over to Iruka and curtseyed deeply.

"Umm… I—speak Pyroan no good…" she muttered apologetically, clasping her hands in front of her. Her head was down, and she gave the impression that she was forever ashamed of herself in general.

But Iruka smiled gently and patted her head. "You know, Pyroan isn't my native language either. Do you speak Latin?"

Maylara didn't look at him. She shrugged. "I speak Latin better than Pyroan. I show you to… what is it? I'm so sorry! I show you to suite, sir."

Iruka smiled gently and nodded. Tsunade turned on her heel and swept down the hallway. She loved Maylara, but she couldn't be bothered with her emotional problems right now. After launching herself up a grand spiral staircase, she stalked down a hall, her heels clicking away loudly at the wooden floor. Nearly kicking down the dreadfully heavy doors of the throne room, she rushed on back into another room that seemed almost to be hiding in the corner.

She burst through the doors, and a man in a large chair behind a large desk jumped, clearly startled.

"Move, Eru."

The elf in the chair put on a rather indignant face, and hoisted his person from the upholstery with what seemed like near inhuman effort. Even so, Eru remained beside the desk where Tsunade went to sit down, twirling a snow white finger around snow white locks of hair. He was much better dressed than Maylara—but then, he was of much higher status than the Drow. Eru had adorned a silver circlet embedded with a pale sapphire that matched his eyes quite well. His shirt was a pale grey with a low neck line but long sleeves. He wore light silver gauntlets which stretched onto the tops of his hands, and his grey pants were made for horse riding. He wore very sturdy looking leather boots, as well.

Briefly, taking one moment to absorb the appearance of her second, Tsunade very briefly wondered if she should get Maylara some better clothing.  _I'd wager she's hit puberty by now, poor thing…_

"Eru, the first order of business,"

"Yes?" Eru immediately sensed the tension in Tsunade's tone.

"…Hast there been… Hast there been anything… outlandish occurring in the area? That thou hast noticed, at least? Under thy watch, hast there been anything that thou thought too petty to inform me of? Please, I do ask thee to answer truthfully, as my faithful servant."

Eru rolled his eyes. "Geez. Thou art truly dramatic. No, there was nothing, only rumors of artifacts being found in Rice Agro Regionem. But surely, thou know'st this much. Anyhow, I have not asked the earth anything for a long while, as everything seemed to be running along just fine."

"Damn it!" Tsunade yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Eru narrowed his eyes. "Alright, what is going on? I sense a foul odor."

Tsunade tossed the letter from her cloak onto the desk. "I want Bainwen for this job."

Eru wrinkled his perfectly shaped nose in disgust. "Thou wouldst have that Sindarin bitch?" he growled incredulously.

Tsunade glared venomously. "Damn it, Eru, that Sindarin bitch knoweth more languages than thou dost, and fluently at that. In addition, she is the most successful and the most hard working code breaker that we have. Canst thou break this code?" she violently waved the paper in his face. "I thought not. Those in glass houses should not throw stones. Now go!"

He went, and swiftly. Tsunade slumped over with her head in her hand.  _If this is what I fear…But I cannot simply leave this place when I've just arrived… My people will think I've abandoned them to work for men…_

Tsunade snarled in frustration. "Fuck it all!" she growled under her breath. "I need a drink…"

"Milady," Eru hurried back into the office. "She hath been sent for."

"Good."

"Wouldst thou like anything to eat or drink? I could send for—"

"No," Tsunade tersely declined the offer. "I cannot eat or drink anything but sake, currently…"

"That can be arranged…"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in interest. "Make it so, then."

But it was at that moment that something loudly crashed through the doors.

"Milady!" the female elf panted. It was Bainwen. "I'm sorry I took a while! I had to finish another job but…" She shook her head as though shaking herself of the excuse and hustled up to the desk, and in front of her queen. Her dark red hair looked as though it were mussed from wind, and there was even a crisp, moss green leaf in it, which Eru distastefully picked out. Her skin was the color of a very light and pale sort of honey, and freckles danced across the expanse of her cheeks. Her shoulders were square as she gazed at Tsunade, though she curtseyed quite politely, and her quicksilver eyes blazed.

"You had a job for me, Queen? I heard it was something especially important."

Tsunade nodded, standing up as she slid the parchment across the desk. "Sit, if it pleases thee more, whilst thou art working."

Bainwen appeared aghast at the suggestion. "Oh, no, your honor, I couldn't! Here, just let me—" Grabbing the note, her eyes began to make quick scans of the paper.

"Observe, Eru, and then criticize. Unlike the others, she durst not even need paper on which to write." Tsunade smiled proudly. "She has not lineage to speak of, and her speech is crude based on Quenya standards, but is that what determines intellect?"

Eru slumped against the wall. He crossed his arms and tossed a pouting glare at Bainwen. It was with a focused gaze that he looked at her, though, and Tsunade refrained from rolling her eyes. Everyone around her except for Eru was used to Bainwen by now. As a wild elf, the girl went around in what could have been considered lingerie, but what was actually an attempt on her part to put on more clothes. Her stockings were thick, and went up to mid thigh, and she wore pale animal hide boots over them. Her "pants" consisted of a soft leather pantie, held up by strings drawn at her hips. Her "shirt" was some more fort leather, which managed to cover her breasts. Granted, Tsunade occasionally stared at Bainwen. But it was out of curiosity, produced by the many tattoos she saw over the girl's body. When Bainwen hunted, one could see all of them, for she wore nothing but thin metal wristbands and that pale brown, soft leather pantie.

The blonde woman looked away as Eru began to drool.

Tsunade loved Eru like a brother; they had grown up together, and had played together a lot. Their parents had always been quite close friends. But sometimes she just wanted to punch him for being so stuck up about his lineage. Quenya wasn't even a  _race_! It was a language and it mattered where you were born and who your ancestors were.  _She would be so good for him... If only he could suck it up and ask her for a night out!_

"Eureka!" Bainwen shrieked. "I got it! Milady! I got it!" The girl was practically bouncing with urgency. "This is something you really have to hear! Listen:

'To whom it may concern—

I have fulfilled the activity which was asked of me. Everything, including the kitchen sink, forces me to believe that X is in possession of Y. But I wonder what they will do with it. I suppose I will have to save my questions until the next time I see you. By the by, I know that you will sojourn at Z to relax, read, and visit—perhaps more. Return the favor, please, by permitting your servant entrance.

—Ímisy'"

"Hmm… Canst thou inscribe this?" At a nod from Bainwen, Tsunade strolled over to the door and poked her head out. Sure enough, in the previously empty throne room, there were ten guards and five servants (who thankfully didn't see her). She quickly turned back inside. "Eru?" She called sweetly.

With much rolling of the eyes, he turned to her. "Yes, My Lady?" This was said respectably, but really, it toed the line of impatient sarcasm.

Tsunade gave a lopsided grin. "What? Is't becoming too stifling in here for thee?"

Eru shrugged. "I'm waiting. What is't?"

"By Rahun, if anyone were to hear how thou speakest to me…" Tsunade shook her head. "Anyhow, I wouldst have my travelling companion and retainer from Vicus in Foliis come down and join us. I wish for thou, personally, to go and acquire the little dark one. She is attending my friend. Inform her that it is urgent business, and to convey Iruka Umino to the office behind the throne room just as soon as he is ready. Is this clear, Eru?"

"Yes, ma'am, quite."

"Off, then, and make as much haste as though a raid were moving in upon us."

"A raid?"

"Yes, a raid! Truly I say, this is an emergency, so with all unholy speed, get thy ass out of this room!"

So he did. Tsunade breathed a sigh of exasperation as she sat down behind the desk once again. Taking up the paper which was placed before her, she read and reread the translated note. It was from Kakashi, that much was clear. Ímisy was his codename—for, well, reasons that were better left unsaid. She had sent him on a reconnaissance mission into Rice Agro Regionemin order to confirm some suspicions she harbored about them.

Apparently, she had been right. They had supposedly found something big in an archaeological dig in one of their flat, grassy fields not long ago, but they had been very careful to keep it hush-hush. If it was something so great, why keep it secret? Why not let the world know about it, so that the small country could profit from all of the tourists and sightseers that would inevitably come?

Tsunade had a big problem with how the world had been, long ago, when World War Three had blown everyone almost back into the Dark Ages. She had a problem with it because, every so often, someone somewhere would dig up remnants of a large, metal and stone brick structure tunneled into the ground that had somehow outlasted the ages. Then more excavation would start, and somewhere, someone would find pieces of scrap metal; if they were lucky, they would find a small, dome shaped object that looked like it belonged on the back of a turtle. Occasionally, those things had very small rectangles with faded colors on them.

Then, perhaps once every other blue moon, a person may find a large, thick, oblong object made from metal. It looked like a torpedo, and it seemed to have something akin to fins on one end. They might find it at the bottom of a pond or a lake, or buried among rocks or in sand. After all, The End had only occurred about 400 or so years ago.

Tsunade was greatly concerned. She knew that these people had a weapon (or at least the technology to create one) that could wipe out thousands—even millions. She didn't know what it was exactly—she'd have to send out more people later. The important thing was that this country was right on their border, and they didn't have excellent relations, to say the least.

The rest of Kakashi's letter was simply saying that he knew Tsunade would take it here to be decoded. She would have to tell the guards to be expecting him, or else they might take him prisoner by mistake. She smiled as she thought of how happy and surprised Iruka would be to see him. But then she frowned. Now was not the time for rest or relaxation. Now was the time to get to work.

* * *

_.x.x.x.x._

* * *

The Gusty Mountain Range clawed desperately upwards, fighting to reach the large, yellow waxing moon dangling overhead. Sand tore through valleys and gorges, fleeing from the wind racing after it. Naruto neither saw nor heard any of these things. He slept heavily in a small cave with a very precipitous drop just outside of it. It sheltered him from the roar of the wind, though not the plunging temperature of the night. Shivering, Naruto pulled himself up into a ball and readjusted his sleeping bag. He was wholly unaware that someone was watching him.

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) Port of Ari: _Ari is an Egyptian name that means "guardian". So I thought it was appropriate to call a port this._**

**2) Sisnelalmo melwa mahtartaari: _Scorched Elm Tree's fair warrior-queen. This is the Quenya form of the Elvish language, Quenya being "higher elvish". Tolkien began this language, and it had 350 words to begin with. Now it as over a thousand, and there are many tentative rules being formed for it just as any other language. Quenya in particular is based on the Finnish_   _language. I'm American. Don't you dare ask me how to pronounce this shit._**

**3) h **ína: _child, in the Quenya language_****

****4) Ímisy: _"Half" in Greek  
_** **

****5)Ourliázontas aéra!: _Howling Wind - Grey magic, higher primary magic, elemental wind magic, attack spell_** **

****6) Iródis ton drákon: _Herd of Dragons - Grey magic, higher secondary magic, elemental wind magic, attack spell_** **

****7) Ambar ar Menel. Ëar ar Vista. I súrër colmet mettanatasainnar. : _Heaven and Earth. Sea and Air. The winds carry us to our end point. (eloquent, I know.) Just cuz I can, and I'm a dork, here's the exact translation: Heaven and Earth. Sea and Air. The winds carries us our endpoint toward. In Quenyan._** **

****_****8) Se pelna! - _She returns!_** ** _ ** **

****9) Menyë melwa Mahtartaari!: _Our fair Warrior-Queen! in Quenya_** **

****10) Aiya Tsunade Elenion Ancalima! - _Hail Tsunade brightest of the stars! (Taken from_ LOTR: The Two Towers [Book IV])  _and also www dot arwen dash undomiel dot com_** **

****11) Anda Cuio tári! - _Long live the queen!_** **

****12) Alcarin Rahun! Elyë na oa andavë! - _Glorious Rahun! Thou wast away for a long time! (Rahun is indeed a name, but don't get confused. Tsunade is Tsunade, not Rahun, and it will be revealed who this is in the next chapter._** **

****13) Maylara: _For first names, Drow names have prefixes and suffixes. So I chose the feminine prefix "May-", (beautiful, beauty, silver) and added it to the suffix "-lara", (cynic, death, end, victim). If I wanted to be poetic about it, I could say it was, "beautiful victim" or "silver death". But take it how you please._** **

**14) Okay, so he's a merman. So, I thought this fit cuz his last name is Umino, which means dolphin. So yeah. Also, I'm making him a sexy merman. He'll only look a little different, not too. And he'll have a pretty tail! :D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To help with some annotations: I have divided the types of magic up further from Grey, White and Black to, for example, elemental magic. There are other types, like summoning magic, alchemy (which covers things like potions, poisons, antidotes etc) and other things. But of course, these are all within one generic type of magic: White, Black or Grey. Naruto, for example, is primarily a Grey Magic user. Everything exists within these three types of magic.
> 
> So, within those types of magic, there are different styles: attack, defense, diversionary/illusion and things like this in general. There are also different levels of spells, curses, potions or what have you. It all has to do with the ease of performing them. There are three levels: Primary, Secondary, and Advanced. Then there is also Forbidden, in which whatever it is, is universally forbidden to be done, like the performing of a curse, and if fond out will land someone in serious shit whatever country they are in. But as far as the three basic levels, which excludes Forbidden, there are 2 other levels of difficulty: lower and higher. Obviously, the lower primary or lower secondary spell would be easier to cast than the higher primary or the higher secondary spell (respectively).
> 
> I realize that this is all a bit confusing. I also realize I switched up the geography of the Naruto world quite a bit. I'm having fun with it XD SO. If you're confused, feel free to leave a review asking about it. At this point, no question is stupid lol
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW! I HAVEN'T BEEN GETTING ENOUGH REVIEWS LATELY :(


	5. IV - Night, Day, and the Hawk in the Sand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I'm so sorry about this. This has been a long time coming... But too long in coming. I would dodge your various projectiles you're throwing at me but I know that I deserve them, quite honestly. But I have... tons of excuses for putting this off so long. First off, lemme start by saying I've never gotten sick and missed so much school in my life. Second off, I almost got a job. 2 interviews, and never got called back. Bitches. 3rd, technical difficulties with OU shit (on OU's part, might I add) and other various things with college I've been dealing with. I had a big exam earlier in March. I just got assigned a 4th quarter project in my AP history class. I'm having various flute things like COFA and playing hard shit in church pushed on me, plus I'm practicing for a solo (again). Can I go on, or can I stop? I still haven't put my grad party on Facebook, nor have I begun sending invites to family.
> 
> Long story short, I'm doing everything in my power to get these chapters out to you. But I am extremely busy right now. I'm sorry if I can't get these out fast enough for you, but the fact that I'm not just going to throw away this story should be enough for you. I'm really into it and passionate about it and, this only being the 4th chapter, it's been really fun for me.
> 
> So as I write this fanfic, you may realize that some things are in English, and some things are named in another language. I don't specify if they're actually conversing with each other in another language because I'm lazy.. But otherwise, I tend to think of it as such that, in particular with Naruto and his current travelling companions, they are speaking Pyroan (Greek), the native tongue of Terra Ignis (Land of Fire). With people from different nationalities (so that they are in "mixed company"), I prefer that one would assume they are speaking the universal language of this alternate universe, Latin. I'm going to go back and start cleaning this up chapter by chapter so that it is more clear when someone is speaking in a different language, and which language at that. But unfortunately I won't be doing that for a while, and the editing process will probably be a long one. But I'll get to it since I'm going over all of my previous works and editing those as well.
> 
> So. I've created a system of coins... eheheheee... I'm having too much fun with this, I'm sorry. Here it is(in Pyroan):
> 
> $0.10: 1 sídero (gold)
> 
> $1.00: 1 chalkós (silver) (slang: jack, scratch; jack used as plural form, and also referring to money/coin in general; scratch is singular, used only for chalkós)
> 
> $10.00: 1 asími (copper)
> 
> $100.00: 1 chrysós (iron) (slang: ferr; in Latin iron=ferrum, thus "ferr")
> 
> It's really a simple system, based on the units of ten. So like, if you had 7 chalkós (about $7), you'd have 70 síderos. If you had 10 chalkós, that's the same as having 1 asími. Kinda easy to understand? Just refer to this if you get confused, and I'll be putting this conversion... list? chart? thing on each chapter for a bit, just so you don't get frustrated or anything. Remember it's okay to ask me questions about random stuff. Even I get confused sometimes, and I'm writing this! (Comforting, isn't it?)
> 
> Enough of my blabbing.
> 
> Enjoy!~

The black waves gently broke against the soft, white shore. The pearlescent sand glistened like snow, reflecting the gentle moonlight. It easily gave way, in the manner of thick butter or fat, under Sasuke's bare feet. He did not notice when the day had shed her bright blue dress and slipped into soft, sensual black. His back was coldly turned to the dark, deep ocean and the small, drifting boat that moved as though it were on blown glass—slowly and smoothly. Sasuke vaguely decided that the sea was a bit too calm for his liking, but he did not dwell on the thought, if indeed he dwelt upon it in the first place (for to not  _linger_  on one thought, you have to give it the time of day to begin with).

Sasuke had  _not_ docked by the boardwalk, where it was safe, and where the blinking lighthouse kindly beckoned people like him into safe harbours, and away from the sharp rocks that he was currently leaving. No. If he had docked that little boat which was now drifting out into the open ocean, right up on the boardwalk, he surely would have been spotted by many others; others who were from cargo ships, others who were from pirate ships, others who were from navy ships. They might be on lookout duty for the night, to ensure that no one would take their ship. A naval officer might be keeping an eye on the boardwalk, making sure that there was no funny business—or there might be a navy ship or two in port, travelling for one reason or another. A cargo ship, arriving late in port, might just be unpacking their goods. He couldn't take chances. He didn't have that luxury at the moment. Sasuke wasn't exactly inconspicuous, after all, with swords sticking out from under his cloak, and the cloak itself shredded and stiff with dried blood. Which reminded him: he had to get his wound taken care of.

The sounds of the city of Ari were growing louder and louder as Sasuke trudged on. He was travelling uphill, now, further and further above sea level, through bramble, sharp shells, stones and broken glass. Although he didn't really think much about it, he found it ironic for a moment that he was trying to remain unseen; yet if someone found these bloody footprints and followed them…

Hanging paper lamps were lit on the outskirts of the city. They lined the main roads as well, and it made it seem as though Ari was preparing for a festival. But it was always like a festival in big port towns like Ari.

Sasuke quickly muttered, "Metamfíesi **[1]**." As he wrapped the thin cloak tighter around his body, it became thicker, and longer, eventually growing to hide all of him when he pulled the hood over his head. No one stared at him as he wandered through the streets of Ari. He was simply a nomad, an itinerant  _someone_ who was  _no one_. Those Sasuke came across and those that came across him left well alone.

Sasuke wandered deeper into the shadows, a black figure roving in black shadow of night. At some point during his walk of the town, the sound of quarreling came from up from some narrow side street. The noise caught Sasuke's eye, but only for a moment. He wasn't interested in the problems of others. However, he took a double take (inconspicuously, of course), seeing how richly dressed one of the men were. He observed and quickly assessed the situation. He needed to take out two men: one who was large and burly and bald and really very ugly, in Sasuke's opinion, and one rich man who very likely had coins in his pocket. Silently, so silently, he crept, like a cat up to a mouse. He stuck close to the wall of the alley—the wall on the side of the big man. He would get the big man, first. It had to be quick—because he was on him now.

Sasuke had bashed the large man in the back of the neck with the hilt of one of his swords. Both of them had been too enraptured by their argument to notice that he was on them. The little rich man tried to run. Oh, he tried. But he was a rather portly little man, and he didn't get far before one of Sasuke's blades had sliced clean through him. The man moaned and grunted pitifully, like a pig at the slaughter. Sasuke smirked as he cleaned off his rapier and sheathed it. He couldn't really take his time with this, though. Someone might come. After all, murder in cold blood was generally frowned upon in most societies. He bent over the man and searched all over until he finally found what he'd been looking for: money. It was all here: the chalkós, asími, a bit of sídero, and even chrysós. Plenty of chrysós. Sasuke gave a satisfied "hmph" and took it all—all he could find on the still breathing man—dumping it into his empty money pouch before taking off. That man's clothes didn't suit him, so he would go out and buy some that did.

First, though, Sasuke needed to secure lodging for the night and tend to his wound. Also, although perhaps not as important as these first two things, he needed to find food. Without the cloak on—to be more specific, without the magic surrounding the cloak—he looked quite the mess. So it would be important to find new clothes as well, not to mention taking a good bath. That was why he was headed to Nancy's Harbour Café. His destination was just a block down from a nice weapons shop, where he dropped off his rapiers to be cleaned and sharpened. Looking around briefly, he decided he'd come back that night, because it had some accessories that he needed.

Sasuke sighed. He hadn't been to the Café in a while. Firelight gleamed from the windows and the cracks in the door. They didn't have the money for electricity in the entire venue, unlike some places. All they could afford was the kitchen, and they had all the clean, hot water they wanted. It wasn't a bad place at all. He could hear the rowdy bunch all the way outside, and further away, too. Swinging open the doors, he didn't even flinch at the onslaught of a song (if it could be called that) sung by a few drunken pirates that really couldn't sing at all. But those were pirates for you. Pushing through lines of shivering girls that smelled much too sweet and men—big, small, fat, thin—too malodorous to sit near, Sasuke finally got up to a thin wooden stand, behind which a fat little man sat. It was almost a comical sight. He, amidst all of this ruckus and debauchery and sin, this little man was here in a crisp white dress shirt and a purple knitted vest, with tufts of white hair on his balding head that reminded Sasuke of cloud. His large eyes hid behind small spectacles and he seemed hard at work when Sasuke stopped in front of the desk.

"Um…" Sasuke said loudly, trying to get the man's attention.

Still, the little old man kept scribbling away, his face scrunched up in heavy concentration.

So Sasuke tried again. "Excuse me." He said, a bit louder this time.

"Oh!" the old man squeaked.

"I want a room."

"Oh, yes." The little man bent over and dug around in the area in front of him—presumably in some drawer under his desk. "Ah, here it is. This room is free." And before Sasuke could ask, the man said, "Don't worry, it does lock."

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke nodded slowly, taking the key and turning to go.

"Sir! The money!"

"Tch. Can't I just pay when I leave?"

"No you may not. You must pay now or I cannot let you stay here." The little man insisted.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I don't even know how long I'm staying."

"Then just give me the fee for a night."

"…?"

"One asími, five chalkós, and seven sídero."

Sasuke didn't have enough sídero to pay with, so he gave the man six chalkós rather than five, and got three sídero back. Nodding to the man, he took his leave of the noisy throng in the tavern. He went up the stairs and almost immediately came upon his room. He wouldn't bathe just yet. After closing and locking the door, he got down on his hands and knees and began to feel along the wooden floor. He knocked and peered in different little places, and to any passerby it would look like he were a bit… off. But he was looking for something—which, after a bit of work, he found: a hollow spot. Carefully, very carefully, Sasuke removed a rotting wooden plank from the floor. Underneath was nothing. Sasuke pulled out the smaller bag that was inside his money bag, and after taking out three chrysós and seven asími, put everything in the larger money bag under the plank. The rest he would take with him for food, medicine, and clothing.

Now that he had a room, he wanted medicine. Out the door he went, down the stairs two at a time, and through the entrance of the tavern. Although the cloak magic covered him, he felt conspicuous— what with being covered in blood and reeking strongly of sweat, bodily excrements and dead rat—and walked briskly through the bustling city. Even though it was late at night, the rich port town was still abuzz with activity. He noted in the back of his mind that most shops were still open, but if his memory served, the one that he was looking for was down this alleyway…

Indeed, it was there.  _Bokor **[2]:**  Easing your troubles for a small fee._ The sign had one of those universal symbols on it: a voodoo doll. Sasuke sighed. The poor man really had to go out of his way to show what sort of man he was—after all, no one really practices voodoo anymore, let alone would know what a "bokor" is.

When he opened the narrow door, dust seemed to rise up to meet him.

"Comeaux **[3]**?" Sasuke called. The place was absolutely silent.

Until that damn spider monkey came flying and screeching, and caught Sasuke off guard enough so that he nearly got his face bitten off.

"Louis **[4]**! Knock it off, boy!" A strong, angry voice called from another room.

"Comeaux? That fucking little shit…" Tossing a glare towards Louis, Sasuke headed toward where he was pretty sure the voice was coming from. "Are you in here?"

"Yessir! Right 'ere!" Comeaux called.

Rounding a corner, there he was, sitting on a stool so short he may as well have been on the ground.

"What you come here for, boy?" He gazed at Sasuke with mysterious, soul-searching eyes.

He was dark, dark, but not nearly as dark as they come. Besides that, he was tanned, his skin turned to leather from years of working in the hot sun. But he was not old, per say. At most, he was probably forty. His black hair was cut so short you could almost see his scalp. His voice was only a bit less rough than his hands were, and it was shocking to see a tall man like Comeaux on such a short stool. Sasuke wondered idly what he'd been doing.

"I have a wound I need healed. You do it better and cheaper than anyone else in this town."

"Well," Comeaux hesitated a moment before continuing. "I'll do it, but don' forget that you still need to rest afterward. Magic don' fix e'erythin'. It fixes some things, but not all things. 'Sides, I have physical limits with—"

"Yeah, okay, I get it, so can we just do it already?" Sasuke growled impatiently.

"You a fool, boy. I could just as easy turn you out. Not like I don' get enough money from my regular customers." Comeaux shook his head. "You needa learn some respect, tha's what. I'm sure yo ma'am taught you somethin' of that?" He just asked it as a way of grouchy conversation while he was gathering items, preparing for the healing ritual.

Sasuke needed Comeaux to heal him. So he didn't kill him. "My mother has been dead now for fifteen years… Actually, my older brother killed her. And everyone else, too." Sasuke huffed as Comeaux had him lay down on a wooden table.

"Well if everyone else gone, who done bring you up then? You was nothin' but a child, you didn't feed and fend for yourself." Comeaux reasoned.

Sasuke laughed bitterly. "A snake. A snake fed me."  _I don't think he did much raising though…_ "But when I was old and strong enough… I guess, you could say… I bit the hand that fed me." Now, Comeaux was rubbing a strange, jelly-like concoction over his wound, muttering a strange incantation, but Sasuke was smiling. It was a strange combination of sly, murderous, bitter, triumphant and sad. And he knew that Comeaux had heard him because he'd felt the man's fingers shudder. It'd been barely perceptible, but it was there.

He resisted the strange laughter that welled up inside him. Was he crazy or something? Probably. But what did it matter?  _Everyone dies in the end._ It's what he always told himself. In every single situation, he told this to himself because it made him feel better that no matter what anyone did, no matter how old they were or what they went through in their lifetimes, they'd all die. Everyone had the same end. For some reason, it made him feel better. Maybe it was because it gave him a grip on reality. But again, what did it matter?

While Sasuke was lost in his morbid thoughts, Comeaux had been across the room, working on another little concoction.

He held this up to Sasuke's lips now. "Here. Drink." And Sasuke did, heaving slightly in the process. "Now, now, don't throw it up. That defeats the purpose!"

Sasuke just glared at him.

"So, the price will be… two chrysós."

"What?" Sasuke's eyes went wide with disbelief. "That's outrageous! Take it down! I'll pay no more than nine asími, you beggar!"

"One chrysós and five jacks **[5]**  then." Comeaux returned.

"No way." Sasuke growled.

"Nine jacks is too low. I'm fine with a haggle, but I'm loosin' money there."

"Tch. Fine. One chrysós and three asími. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it, sir!" Comeaux grinned.

Sasuke sighed, almost in defeat as he handed over the coinage. He was feeling better though, and he could feel the wound closing up. He left, not bothering with a goodbye. He was headed for the clothing shops now.

Out on one of the well lit main streets, Sasuke entered the first clothing store that he could find. He first picked up the essentials: boxers and socks. Then he went for a black tank top and some black skinny jeans—a simple outfit. There was also a large selection of belts. Belts were important to him. He picked a checkered black and red one that was just a bit too large. Getting a slightly too large belt was also important—on the inside of the belt, Sasuke would keep different summoning patches that were activated with a spot of blood and a word. They reset instantaneously as well, so it was really very convenient.

The next store he went into was a shoe store. Being a shoe store, they inevitably had a very large selection of shoes. The ones he chose were fashioned to make absolutely no noise at all. They were red and white, too.

The last store that he went to was the weapons supply store. No, his rapiers would not be ready until the morning. Yes, they would be sharpened. Oh, and they would be shined, too.

He looked around. There was a large section of gloves hanging on the wall. He picked a pair of fingerless white gloves which went up to about mid-forearm, with which he'd be able to grip his swords tightly. Next to the gloves were cancellus. Everything made of cancellus that you could imagine. Luckily, Sasuke was able to pick through the obscene quantity of product to find exactly what he wanted: fingerless gloves that went up just above his elbows.

Sasuke was almost in a good mood when he walked back to Nancy's Harbour Café. Of course it's not something that showed, but it was true. He was here in Ari, with money, clothes, a place to stay, and newly cleaned, sharpened and shined weapons soon to be back in his hands. He sighed with near contentment. He was going to have food soon, so now all he needed was a woman to bed. Or two.

Of course, if he was pretty enough, a man would do, too. It didn't matter to him. As long as there were no strings attached and nothing contagious involved, none of that mattered to him.

For the second time that night, he stepped through the doors of the tavern to be greeted by mirth, the stench of sweat and ale, and warm firelight. The moon was past the high point in the sky now, but it was still the very wee hours of the morning. It couldn't have been later than two. Upstairs, he carelessly tossed his new articles of clothing onto his bed and stripped immediately to throw on fresh boxers and his new jeans. Completing it with the shoes, he forwent his shirt and practically ran downstairs and up to the bar.

"Is there any hot food?" he asked the nearest wench behind the counter. He was really trying not to appear like starving man who'd just been rescued off a desert island.

"Umm… I'm not sure if there is any left." She frowned uncertainly. Sasuke frowned too. She was cute, but her hair was dark brown. He wanted blonde. "Let me ask, okay? And if not, I'm sure we can whip something up for ya, okay?" she smiled sweetly before belting out a question. "Nancy? Is there any food leftover from tonight? We got a hungry customer 'n he wants hot food!"

A moment later, Nancy herself appeared. She was an older woman, with a dark brown skin tone, large, bright eyes and a myriad of long, dark dread locks. She was old, but she was pretty. Nancy looked Sasuke over with a critical eye. He tried to appear unconcerned, but his stomach gave him away.

"We trew all ah food out to da cats 'n dogs een da back." Nancy said, still looking at Sasuke. Then she looked at the girl. "You go on home, baby. You jus' let Nancy take care o' dis. Boy," Nancy glanced at Sasuke as she made her way into the kitchen. "I make ya some oat 'n rice meal. Be hot 'n fillin'. I got bread baking for tomorrow, so I give you some too."

"Thank you." Sasuke mumbled.

Really, it was more than he expected, with it being so late. Nancy was actually going out of her way to feed him. Then again, that was her job. She and those working here went out of their way to ensure travelers had a place to stay and food in their bellies, no matter what time of day. With a stomach heavy with warm food, Sasuke would sleep like the dead.

* * *

Naruto started awake, bolting up from the cold, stony ground. He rubbed his aching side, scanning the interior of the cave only to see that Anko had moved on to kick the others awake.

He stood, scowling, and whined at her back, "Hey! What the hell's the big idea!?"

Anko turned swiftly to him, her dark eyes boring into him even in the shadows of the cave. "I'll explain later. Just pack up your things. We must move quickly."

As Naruto rolled up his sleeping bag and gathered his belongings, he noticed that there was one more person in the cave than there had been before. But the blonde was unable to clearly decipher any features through the gloom. As it was, the moon didn't reach quite that far into the cavern.  _Oh._ Naruto thought as a realization hit him.  _The moon is showing… I guess the sandstorm is over for now._

Naruto yawned, trailing lethargically after the others as they began to move out. As it happened, the extra member of their group wore a long, sandy brown cloak with the hood drawn close about his face. Naruto thought that the material was reminiscent of sackcloth. But regardless, he couldn't see what the person looked like, even now in the light of the moon.

Sakura was trying to catch up to Anko before they entered the narrow footpath outside the cave. There was not room enough for two to walk abreast with the vertical wall on one side, and a precipitous drop on the other.

"What is going on?" she asked. "Who is that person?"

They were now edging out onto the ledge, one person at a time.

"I'll explain later…" The woman answered, struggling to balance with her large axe. "We should wait for a safer place. But…" she paused, eyeing a suspicious crack in the footpath. "Basically, we need to make double time now."

They were silent as they edged along the face of the wall. Each step had to be so carefully placed. Just one single misstep—just one—would end it all; for one of them, or for all of them. But Naruto could see it. Beyond the heads of Lee, Sakura and Anko, he could see it. The sun was beginning to rise. The sky ahead of them was turning a fiery burnt orange on the horizon, splattered with yellow and red. It would be a moment though, until they could see the sun looking boldly over the sandy horizon. It was funny to think that the sky behind Naruto was still black.

It took a moment, but Naruto saw another thing. He couldn't quite make it out, but it almost looked like the sky line of a city in the far distance.

"Hey! Hey!" He crowed excitedly. "What is that! That stuff over there! Is that a city?"

Anko shook her head. "It's just a continuation of the Gusty Mountains. We are passing through one part now, but the entire range is quite long and rather thin. It curves around like a snake basking in the sun."

"So those formations over there are attached to this mountain range?" Sakura inquired.

"Mhmm. We'll find Void Town in Grace Valley…"

"Grace Valley?" Naruto asked skeptically.

Anko shrugged. They'd come to the very end of the footpath, and it veered off to the side with the shape of the mountains. "We'll climb down here."Anko said, taking out a cable. "Grace Valley." She continued absently as she tied a cable to grappling hook. "It doesn't translate very well into Pyroan, so that is what we call it. It really is something more like, 'rejoice in our green gardens and our clear waters because the desert has shown you this place'. So we call it Grace Valley, or the Valley of Grace. I've even heard it called Grace of the Desert." She sighed, dusting off her hands. The grappling hook now had a firm, secure hold in the rock. "Of course, the name doesn't really have any meaning anymore since the oasis has dried up… But who's going first?"

"I will!" Lee said. He waggled his thick eyebrows at Sakura. "So I can catch you on your way down."

All at once wide eyed and red faced, Sakura would have thrown Lee down the mountain had Naruto not had the forethought to grab hold of her first.

Each person hopped one by one down the face of the rock in an orderly fashion. Luckily, they'd all been wearing gloves, and so did not experience any sort of rope burn. Naruto could imagine that they were all grateful for that. Everyone watched in terror, though, when the person accompanying them ripped the grappling hook from its hold in the rock and simply took the plunge.

Sakura screamed. Everyone ran to him, but they couldn't see. The sand was everywhere, mushrooming like disturbed mud on the bottom of a creek bed. But the person was there, standing in a small crater as though nothing had happened at all.

Sakura gaped. "This—this isn't possible! Judging from the height and the speed of your fall, you should have been crushed! At least let me check—"

"That's not necessary, Sakura." Anko said.

That was when Naruto realized that Anko had not reacted one bit to this person's stunt.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, finally getting irritated.

Anko sighed and turned, squinting, toward the sunrise.

After a moment, Sakura broke the silence. "It's bad, isn't it?" she murmured.

Anko nodded. "Yep, it's pretty bad." She sighed again. "Arena Vicus has been taken by the Menkure family. The Kazekage and his family are safe. They are in hiding. The Kazekage's condition is still being kept secret, and his older sister, Temari, is rallying support for him underground. This…" Anko paused, massaging her temples before continuing. "This… new member of our group is actually a puppet."

"What?" Lee exclaimed as they began walking again. "That's impossible. The puppeteer must be somewhere nearby for that to be true!"

Anko shook her head. "Not necessarily… The puppeteer is the Kazekage's older brother, Kankuro. He is utilizing Arcane Black Magic, a very old style of Black Magic. This puppet… it is actually a human that was transformed into a puppet by the infamous puppeteer, Akasuna."

"But I thought he left the dessert!" Sakura objected.

"He did. It appears he had a run in with Kankuro before leaving, and this was Kankuro's trophy. But there's a catch with this puppet. Kankuro specifically sent this puppet for a reason. Kankuro is controlling this puppet from a hidden, protected place in or around Arena Vicus. He's completely vulnerable at this time because his body is left open to attack. He is in a sleep-like state while he sees through the eyes of his puppet, and makes the puppet act accordingly. Now, here is the catch. This is an exhausting technique. In addition to this spell completely depleting the body of energy, you don't sleep, eat, drink or piss like you usually would. So Kankuro, being the brainy inventor and toy tinkerer he is, decided to create a new component to place in our puppet here. He installed a 'brain' into the puppet. This 'brain' will function while Kankuro leaves to eat, sleep, and do whatever else he needs to do."

"He—The puppet… It won't take on a personality and free will, will it?" Sakura asked warily.

"It shouldn't." Anko returned nonchalantly.

"The morals of that would be questionable… It would be like giving life, then taking it. All on a whim… If it has feelings—"

"Sakura," Naruto drawled. "You're too soft. I thought elves were tougher—more rational than that. I mean, look at old Grandma Tsunade!" he grinned at her boiling anger.

"Naruto! You don't even know what you're talking about! We're the only two elves you've ever associated with! But…" Her expression fell into uncertainty. "If this puppet develops feelings, and becomes conscious of itself as a living being… That would be bad."

"I agree!" Lee shouted passionately. "It would be like a new human had been created, yet it can be turned off and on at the will of the user! It is simply used and cast aside when convenient!"

"Remember, Kankuro can hear you!" Anko hissed.

Naruto snorted and said nothing. Lee and Sakura believed that anything that was conscious had certain basic rights. Whether that was even true or not… he didn't think that was the real issue. But there were simply things in this world that  _were_  and  _were not_. He thought of Tsunade, a kind woman. She'd taken him in, offering him a freedom he hadn't expected of her. Even at fourteen, he hadn't been naïve; he'd expected to be imprisoned right along with Kurama. But Tsunade was generous. She even gave him a teacher, Iruka. Iruka had taught Naruto in the way of more basic hand-to-hand combat, magic and weaponry skills, all for about one year. He quickly became like an older brother to Naruto. Iruka was one of the people that he was closest to, even now at seventeen. Then, Naruto happened upon a certain mountain sage, Jiraiya. He nagged and pleaded for the older man to teach him. At the time, Naruto couldn't help but think just how cool this old man was, and how strong. He soon found out that Jiraiya was one of Tsunade's oldest and dearest friends—and, coincidentally, part of the Nightmare Trio. Jiraiya told him that they were christened as such due to their wild and violent past. They would tear through war zones like a tornado. But now they were older, and things had calmed down. But—who was the third member? No one would answer that, and Naruto learned to simply never ask. The third person was never spoken of. But there were rumors flying about that he was dead—killed by the member of some Vicus in Foliis clan that no longer even existed.

Shaking his head, Naruto tried to halt his wandering thoughts.

These "basic rights" people supposedly had—that had been upheld by law in the ancient times of the Pre Apocalypse. Naruto could scoff at that. He had had unprecedented freedom, yes. However,  _someone_  was  _always_ watching. He could feel it deep under his skin, like a wriggling parasite. But what was he to do? He sighed. Naruto always had the sneaking suspicion that people stopped him from doing what he wanted, but then someone would always conveniently "ask" him to go with them, or do the same thing with them. It was  _total_ coincidence, of course. Naruto fought to keep his expression neutral and not let his pale lips pull down into a frown. And then, there was a limit to how strong he could get, and what was deemed appropriate for him to say, to do… The Gods forbid he ever become at all influential to others! The Gods forbid that anyone might ever genuinely like him! Which of course, many did genuinely like him. But it was as though they tried to keep themselves from liking him too much.

On the flip side, lots of people hated him. Now, Naruto knew murderous intent when he felt it, but he'd not encountered it on a daily basis until Vicus in Foliis. He knew "hatred" now; he knew "pain", whereas before, travelling with Kurama, he hadn't known either. Because that powerful demon had raised him, Naruto was also to be hated and feared, right?

And so, great care was always taken in dealing with him. He knew this. He hated it. It made him yearn to hear the stories the Kurama would tell of the Pre Apocalypse; times when judgement against a fellow being was less poisonous, and although war and hate were rampant, so were love and trust.

"Naruto?" Sakura murmured, peering over at him with a concerned expression. "You've been very quiet for a long time… Are you okay?"

Admittedly, it  _was_  highly unusual for him to be so quiet and subdued for such a long period of time.

Naruto shrugged, but he edged closer to the pink haired elf as they walked. "When I getta chance," he muttered. "can I talk to you alone?"

Sakura was someone that Naruto always told everything to. Well, almost always. Yes, she was very close to the Hokage, but he also believed her to be a true friend.

"Uh, yeah." She replied, clearly a bit confused. "Is something bothering you? Did something happen?"

Naruto hesitated. "Well, nothin' happened, exactly… Can ya just hear me out? I think you'll understand when I explain." After all, Naruto had been with Sakura and a few others, that time when he'd been pushed into the dirt—a restaurant owner's way of refusing to let Naruto enter the establishment.

He had to wonder—and not for the first time—if there weren't others who were treated like this… He had to wonder if there weren't people who were treated much worse. If Naruto saw Kurama in his dreams again, it could be something to ask him.

Absently wiping the sweat that gathered on his brow, his winced in surprised when the action pained him. He made a frustrated and disgruntled "tch" sound.  _I guess it was impossible not to get sunburned… This totally sucks._ The blonde squinted as he peered into the distance. They were very close to the mountains now. There was an entrance that was barely visible from this distance into a valley that seemed to tunnel through between two plateaus. The rest that he could see was big and rocky and steep—more mountainous than the flat-topped areas they had just moved from.

"Is that where we're going?" Sakura asked, pointing to that particular entrance.

Anko nodded. "Through there is Void Village. We won't be stopping until we get there."

"Ah! We're so close!" Lee cried excitedly. "And we'll make even better time with no stops! Let's hurry!" He began jogging ahead, but Anko caught him by his long, black braid. "Ow!" he rubbed his head. "Don't slow me down!" He shouted, waving his arms around in frustration. "If anything, you should hurry up! Is this not a dire situation? Let us enjoy the energy our youthfulness has bestowed upon us and—"

"If you try to run all the way there you'll just get dehydrated and weak. It's hot enough already, and we don't need to risk one of us having heat stroke." Anko said sternly.

"Correct. Ms. Mitarashi is the one with the water supply, in any case."

The entire group stopped. No one spoke.

... Except for Naruto, the perpetual loudmouth. "Okay, who the hell just said that?" he cried, warily scanning their tiny caravan.

"I."

All eyes went to the puppet.

"I apologize if I startled you. I am able to speak when Master ends the puppeteer spell."

"Oh…" Sakura whispered.

After a slight pause, Anko said, "Okay, okay. Let's go. We're wasting time."

They continued on, but Naruto noticed Lee sidling up to the puppet.

"So…" he started. "Don't puppeteers usually give their puppets names?"

"Sometimes. Not always." The puppet flatly replied.

"Well what's yours?" Le seemed to be almost trembling with excitement.

"Askari."

Lee frowned. "That's a weird name…" he muttered.

"Master talks to his puppets." Askari stated. "He told me the name is in his native tongue. In Anapnoí, the name Askari means 'fighter'."

Lee's eyes widened to an impossible size. "Woah! That is just so cool!"

"What is Akasuna like?" Sakura suddenly asked.

Askari glanced at her before saying tonelessly, "I am not at liberty to tell. Aside from that circumstance, I do not have memory of much anyway."

"Probably a curse." Anko muttered.

"What? What do you mean?" Sakura pressed.

"I mean that Askari was probably cursed so that he would not be able to talk about Akasuna, so that he wouldn't needlessly divulge information."

"I do not know when Master shall return, but when he does I will not be able to speak. But please follow me this way." Askari said.

They had come to the Gusty Mountains again. Askari led the way, and instead of going through the valley they went up an inclining footpath, that swerved around the mountain. It went through the valley, but it was elevated to a certain height and pushed back just far enough, to where it was impossible to be seen by anyone in the narrow valley. Yet they could see everything perfectly.

They heard the village before they saw it. Loud voices mingled with the sounds of cattle and barking dogs. But to see it just blew Naruto's mind. His jaw dropped. He was nearly unable to comprehend the sight before him. Men, women and children in shackles were being whipped while they worked. But what were they doing? It was too far away to tell. Long, anguished cries of pain and sorrow rose and fell through the thunderous noise of the village, sprinkled with the shorter, harsher screams of pain, and the lightning-like cracks of punishment.

Subconsciously taking a step forward, Naruto whispered, "We have to help them."

"No." Anko said firmly. Yet, Naruto could hear that her voice shook, ever so slightly. "We  _must_ find out which gang this is before doing anything. Then we'll try to sneak down there, get supplies for the third leg of this journey, and leave as quickly as possible. We will find another cavern and take shelter there. At that moment, we need to contact the Hokage and make her aware of the –"

A shrill cry stole the group's attention. A small girl was streaking out of the village. But suddenly, the sand underneath her almost seemed to shift, and she fell. Naruto could barely see from his height, but there was something protruding from the sand, and grasping the little girl's ankle. A large, thin grey dog ran out after her and began barking and snarling and snapping his teeth in her face. Although he seemed to be without a master, he did not harm her. The nearby villagers grew quiet, and Naruto knew that they watched, because their work slowed ever so slightly. A tall, fat and rather barrel-chested man lumbered heavily out of the village. The dog backed off, lowering its head submissively, and the man patted it almost affectionately. He had a long, bushy black beard which he stroked almost lovingly. His back was to the travelers, but he seemed to be taking something out of his pocket. Naruto's eyes widened in horror when he saw what it was. It was a split leather whip, with hooked metal tips. And before the man even reached his arm back to strike the girl, Naruto had leapt off the side of the ledge.

* * *

"Hm…"

"What is it, Choza?"

"Well, I was just thinking: shouldn't Kakashi have returned home by now? I can't help but wonder if something's happened..."

Three men sat—or, more accurately, lounged—in the office of the Hokage. The first one to speak, Choza, was a very large man, massive in both height and girth. Even being seated, anyone could tell that he was huge. His hair was big, too, and wild and red. But the red had a pinkish tint to it that made it look almost plum in depending on the lighting. He had a long, white cloth wrapped around his forehead and it somewhat held his hair at bay. There were purple lines of paint from his cheek bones down to his jaw. Small, simple silver hoops hung from his ears. He wore a basic black t-shirt, and black cargo shorts that fell just below his knees. On his feet were casual nude sandals.

The man to answer Choza had been one from the Nara clan. He wore a black wife beater, allowing the clan tattoo upon his left deltoid to peek out. He had tattoo sleeves, but this was the only ink that ventured onto his chest. His shaggy black hair was tied up into a pony tail, revealing a tanned face marred by two large scars on the right side: one travelling onto his forehead, and one up onto his cheekbone. He as well sported a pair of silver hoop earrings, and donned a goatee. He sat behind the desk of the Hokage, leaning back and seeming altogether very unconcerned, despite the serious track their conversation was beginning to take. He sighed heavily, and clasped his hands behind his head.

"I don't know… That damned dog is never on time anyway. So… we probably shouldn't get too concerned just yet… It'd just be troublesome if we made a fuss over nothing."

"Better to fuss over nothing than to miss something important." Choza countered, yet it seemed that the larger man was alluding now to something other than simply Kakashi.

The last man in the room snickered. He was lounging back on a soft looking black sofa, one of his long, denim clad legs bent and the other hanging off the edge. His long, sunsine yellow hair was wrapped in a pony tail set high on his head, and his short, uneven bangs fell into his eyes slightly. He, too, wore silver hoop earrings. He wore a plain, white tee shirt, underneath a sky blue, short sleeved shirt left unbuttoned. His feet were bare.

The blonde had had his eyes closed, but he turned his head just slightly, away from the couch, and he cracked an eye open to look at the other two.

"Don't be so hard on him, Shikaku, saying how he's always late and whatnot… He's younger than we are."

"True," Choza agreed as he began to eat a large sandwich. "I mean, I'd imagine that if there was a huge problem we'd be notified…"

Shikaku sighed again. "But, Inoichi… I worry sometimes." He looked wearily at the blonde on the couch.

Inoichi raised a pale eyebrow. "Well I'm not going to sit here and read your mind."

"You could, though." Choza returned immediately.

Inoichi's sharp gaze flickered to Choza briefly. "Don't feel like it. Requires energy. Anyway." He directed his last word, with emphasis, at Shikaku.

Shikaku sat up and rested his cheek in his palm. With the other hand he gently massaged his brow with closed eyes, as though he were in pain. "It's just that, with Kakashi not being able to travel by day—obviously he's strong, and he's cunning, and intelligent but still…"

"Oh." Choza perked up after quickly after finishing the formidable-looking sandwich. "Well, I think we all know that he would definitely travel by day if it were to be required of him."

"What?" Inoichi gasped.

Choza nodded matter of factly. "But think of it like this. An ice cube could pass through a flame without melting completely—"

"Depends on how hot the flame is." Shikaku interrupted.

"Let me finish. This is just a metaphor and you're trying to be to damn exact, Shikaku. Anyway." Choza sighed. "As I was saying, an ice cube could pass through a flame without melting completely. Then it could be stored in a freezer once more to completely solidify again. Even liquid on the surface of that cube of ice would once again become ice. Then, say it's exposed to the flame again, and put in the freezer again, repeating the process over and over. This is how it is with Kakashi: burned by day, healing slightly by night. But the longer that it continues, the more damage Kakashi will receive, since damage from the sun is slow to heal."

"Oh." Inoichi muttered.

"So…" Shikaku locked his fingers together, staring intently now at the desk. "I know that the sun puts him through damage, but he only recuperates slightly from the night?"

"If he does not sleep."

"What about…" Shikaku hesitated. "meals?"

"Those probably help him the most."

"But…!" Inoichi spluttered, suddenly quite distraught.

"Yes." Shikaku pressed his forehead into his hand. "The medicines that the Nara and Akimichi clans produce may actually be harming Kakashi right now… if he, in fact, does not lust for blood…"

"If he does not know he needs it, he may die…" Choza finished gravely.

They were silent for a moment, until Shikaku's hand fell loudly onto the wooden desk. "I told you that it would be troublesome if we started making a fuss…"

Inoichi sat up smirking. "You're the one who started it, interestingly enough."

Shikaku rolled his eyes, possibly going to retaliate, when there was a knock at the door. Inoichi sighed horribly long and loud, and gave a very put upon, "I'll get it," as he got up to answer.

"Yes?" The blonde demanded, in a much more stern manner than just before.

"Mr. Yamanaka, sir, we've got a falcon from the Hokage!" It was Izumo.

Shikaku rose. "What does it say?"

Izumo peered over Inoichi's shoulder and shrugged a bit uncomfortably. "I'm not sure, but it's being decoded right now. They say we should know within the hour."

Now Choza stood as well. "It must be important if the Hokage bothered to encode it…"

"Also, we received another message just now from Anko's team in Terra Ventus." Izumo went on. "She has sent an urgent request for backup to meet them as quickly as possible—by whatever means necessary—at Void Village. A situation has arisen and she will be sending information as she gets it, but I feel that the situation she was in required brevity on the point of her note." Izumo dug around in his jacket. "Here it is, Mr. Yamanaka. The three of you may look that over if you wish, but as I said, Anko seems to wish for immediate action."

Shikaku nodded. The three men exchanged glances, and Inoichi said, "Thank you, Izumo. You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

"Wait!" Shikaku called. Izumo stopped up short, and Shikaku continued. "The three of us really shouldn't leave here while we wait for the letter to be decoded. So—" he turned to Inoichi and Choza. "You two are for sending the kids, right?"

They nodded.

"Alright. Izumo, can you track down Shikamaru, Ino and Choji for us? We'll be sending them on this mission."

Izumo nodded. "Yes, sir!"

"I know that Ino is working in the flower shop today, and Choji is helping the scientists in the Akimichi lab, but I honestly couldn't tell you where my own son is." Shikaku ended sheepishly.

Izumo shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I'll find him quickly one way or another."

"Just ask Choji, if Shikamaru isn't with him." Choza suggested lightly. Izumo nodded.

"Now, you are dismissed." Shikaku said.

"Yes, sir!"

The door closed, and all three men seem to breathe a collective sigh.

"Well, I suppose we have more to worry about than simply Kakashi." Inoichi murmured grimly.

Choza nodded. "It would seem like activity in the east is picking up…"

"Interestingly enough, it directly corresponds to the rumored activities in the south that we have Kakashi investigating. Not to mention the far north." Shikaku added.

Inoichi shook his head, scowling. "But that in the north could just be coincidence."

"But we should still take the necessary precautions." Shikaku stated seriously. "We have put off assigning the team that will look into the events in the Gi Tou Chionioú **[6]**  yesterday, but I want to send out Genma Shiranui, Maito Gai, Hayate Gekko, and Aoba Yamashiro."

"All four of them?" Choza asked, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn't that seem… a little extreme?"

Shikaku shook his head. "This mission will consist of possible infiltration, undercover investigation, and I know for a fact that negotiation may be needed. And we have to account for the fact that, in light of the deaths of our men in their land, negotiations very well may break down."

"But how could we falsely accuse—"

"That's the thing." Inoichi interrupted Choza. "We may very well not be falsely accusing. You of all people know that things are not always what they seem."

Another knock resounded at the door. "The kids couldn't be here so fast, could they?" Inoichi asked nobody in particular. When he opened the door, a very small, frazzled looking male nearly fell into the room.

"Sirs!" He spluttered. He bowed at each one in turn, his mousy hair flopping along with his movements. "I have the message! I have it!"

"Well let's see it then!" Inoichi grabbed it from him, and he began to read out loud.

" 'Ino-Shika-Cho:

Kakashi will be arriving shortly at Scorched Elm Tree, perhaps even by the time this letter arrives. There may be something awry in the south, so be prepared to receive orders.'

So that's why it took so little time to decipher." Inoichi spared a glance at the quivering little man. "You're dismissed." Seeming to be an afterthought, he added, "Good job."

"I'm sending out the message to the team I just mentioned." Shikaku said after the man left. He sent out four of the Hokage's hawks to gather them.

"What, Gai and the others?" Choza clarified.

Shikaku nodded. "They'll report here, receive their orders and such, and will leave tomorrow at dawn."

Inoichi sighed. "Why does all this have to happen when Tsunade leaves?"

Shikaku shrugged. "Actually, I rather believe that she knew what was going on and prefers to function in a place where she can not only contact us and other countries, but also the elves that she rules over, and the elves that her kingdom is in alliance with. It's tough because during times like this she has to keep watch not only from our perspective, but also from her own front."

Suddenly, someone burst through the door. No knocking, but three people simply rushed into the room.

"What's the situation?" Shikamaru asked his father as he sauntered into the room.

"I think you all should learn how to knock." Inoichi huffed.

"Sorry, Daddy." Ino purred. "The boys can be so volatile."

The girl was very pretty. She had a long, blonde ponytail like her father, but also long side swept bangs and large, cerulean eyes brought out by dark mascara. Interestingly, she, as well as Choji had the same earrings that their fathers and Shikamaru sported. Ino had very long, slender hands and delicate fingers, but they were bandaged all the way up her forearms as though she'd been in a fist fight earlier. In one hand, she carried a large wooden bat with nails sticking out at odd angles. She wore a purple shirt that exposed a belly ring, and tight black pants, which stopped at the calf, were very low cut at the waist. Her black shoes were flat and soft, allowing for quick and silent movements.

Shikamaru and Choji momentarily shared a look of annoyance. Then Shikamaru coughed lightly. "Really, though."

Choji, although similar in appearance to his father, was different. He was also quite a large man in the same way Choza was. His long hair was just as wild and untamable as his father's, but instead of being a dashing crimson it was a more subtle honey brown color. His eyes were dark, and seemed to be perpetually stuck between brown and black. Each cheek was painted with one red swirl. It seemed to be characteristic of the Akimichi clan to paint things on their cheeks. He wore a red, short sleeved jacket with a high collar, zipped up almost all the way, with a white shirt poking through underneath. He wore black jeans and brown boots to finish.

Shikaku glanced at Choza. "You wrote up the details, right?"

Choza nodded, handing Shikamaru the paper. "Basically, you are to aid Anko and her team. Under her command are Naruto, Sakura and Lee. You will get more information from them, but for now all you need to know is that this is a request for backup. We're not sending you with anyone else because when you meet the others you will make up a small platoon. So there's no need to make this a four-man cell. This," Choza pointed to a place on the parchment. "is where you are going."

"Leave as quickly as possible." Inoichi instructed.

Shikamaru nodded. "Me 'n Choji have to grab some things, 'cuz we just headed straight here, 'n we're not quite ready to roll out just yet… Dunno 'bout Ino, though…" He looked to her in question.

"No." she smiled. "I'll just wait for you by the gate of the village, 'kay?"

* * *

Sasuke had found it prudent to blow his money and time for an entire day. Now usually, Sasuke would never find it prudent to blow anything of the sort. However, today of all days, he had both money and time to blow. He had had the worst of luck lately as well. He wanted a change. So indeed, he did find it prudent.

He woke up rather early that morning and bought quite the luxurious breakfast. Then he washed himself at the public baths. He picked up his weapons from the shop on the way to a café and bought himself a wonderful gourmet coffee. After stashing his weaponry back in his hotel room, he was stopped short as he was leaving by a lovely young girl.

She was slightly tanned, with long blonde hair and gentle blue eyes—just his type, as it happened. Now, what he would  _never_ normally have done (but what he knew he was very capable of) was to hit on her, get her loosened up, allow her to melt in his arms and so on and so forth. But honestly, everyone needed a vacation from reality once in a while. Sasuke could just pretend that he was someone else for today—pretend to cast off his Uchiha pride. No one knew he was an Uchiha did they? And he could forgive himself these rare times that he gave in to one of the deadly sins—although one meant all. He couldn't say—even after another lovely go at the public baths—that he was happy per se, but he was not in a foul mood. That was a close to being happy as he'd ever get, as far as he could see.

It was rather late at night now, and as such, it was quite noisy in Nancy's Harbour Café. Nancy herself fussed over Sasuke periodically, making comments like "so pale" and "seems a bit thin." Old woman should mind her own damn business, if you asked him. It was around two when he was about to call it a night. The… party, one could call it, was getting a bit  _too_ close to him, and he did not fancy having alcohol poured all over him by some drunken idiot.

Suddenly, a loud, rasping voice peeled over the obnoxious throng like cracked church bells. "Be silent a moment, the lot of you!" The room did hush a bit, but apparently not enough to his liking. Calling over the din once more, the voice boomed, "A chance to earn money! Quiet! Much jack to be had, here!" The room immediately fell silent.

Out of curiosity, Sasuke turned around on his barstool. A huge man stood at the open doors, wide enough to take up the entire entryway—which itself was considerable in size—and he still had to bend his great, black hairy head. Even the keffiyeh hung around his head could not hold back the wild black curls struggling to break free. His dark olive skin was wet with sea spray (and probably sweat, Sasuke guessed), and his garments were dirty. He appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a desert dweller. Quickly absorbing the man's appearance, Sasuke decided that, since it was still early September, he'd make it back before the day he needed to be.

"Everyone, please, please gather round! Everyone who wants to earn some money!" The man called, lumbering over to a large, circular table.

So, with the date in mind, he stood from the bar and strolled leisurely over to the table. He figured it would be a good chance to honestly earn money—whether actually honest or not, it didn't matter. Earning money was earning money, and that made him feel better.

He never, ever forgot—no matter what he did to survive—that he was an Uchiha.

There were now four people besides himself and this man sitting at the table. There were two men, one woman, and one—well, honestly, Sasuke wasn't quite sure what  _it_ was.  _It_ wasn't even so much androgynous as just… well. Anyway.

"Alright." The big, hairy man hushed. It was not a suspicious whisper, but it was not a normal talking voice either. It was… casual, but soft; something that wouldn't attract too much attention. "So, for my own reasons, you will be calling me by an alias, but… hmm." He chuckled awkwardly. Even that was softer than Sasuke surmised it would normally have been. "I apologize, I am self taught in Latin so I am not always able to translate everything directly from my own language." He cleared his throat lightly. "I believe the name you would call me is… Thunder." He nodded around to everyone, as if doing so would somehow magically make him correct. Sasuke sighed. He was already growing bored. "Well, onto the issue at hand. Do any of you know of the problems going on in the Iron Desert?"

The two men at the table raised their hands, giving one another sidelong looks. Honestly, Sasuke had no idea that there had been something going on in the desert.

"Well, Thunder continued, clasping his fingers together. "What is happening is a war of sorts. Of course, this fighting was already an everyday occurrence, but it is getting bad now, very bad. I will not give you any unnecessary details. All you need to know is that you must kill these men."

Suddenly the…  _it_ at the table stood, muttering, "If we have to kill more than one, I'm out."

There was loud clatter as the…  _it_ fell to the ground, and Sasuke barely registered the dull gleam of a blade from the corner of his eye. It had startled him, but it was best, at these times, to just pretend that nothing had happened at all. No one in the bar looked, or for that matter even paused in their conversation.

But Nancy was there immediately. "You gonna clean that up, right?" she asked in a tone suggesting she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Of course, ma'am." Thunder returned suavely. "I apologize. I have no business dirtying the floors of your fine establishment. It will be seen to shortly."

Nancy looked at him for a moment—really looked at him, hard, like she was measuring up his words—then she let out a disgusted "hmph" and bustled away.

"Now," Thunder continued with Sasuke and the others remaining at the table. "Back to our conversation."

Thunder reached into his outerwear, retrieving two creased and yellowed sketches. They were both flattened on the desk. One showed a sketch of an old man wearing a turban. He looked sad, somehow. His skin, even in the sketch, looked worn away by the sand. His nose smoothly transition out of his forehead into a beak-like hook. There was a mole under his left eye, as well. Close to the outside.

"Well there are tons of old guys that look like that one!" One of the men crabbed irritably.

Sasuke scowled, having been interrupted from his study of the first sketch. "Tch."

"Well, yes, but you will know when you see him. He is an… important man." Thunder replied gravely.

Sasuke's eyes drifted to the other sketch. It was a young, stern looking man wearing a plain looking ghutrah.

"Ah." Thunder said, seeing Sasuke peering over at the sketch. "That is this elderly gentleman's grandson."

Sasuke nodded. This man had straight, dark hair poking out just slightly from under his ghutrah. His eyes in the sketch had a hardness to them, and he looked like he might jump, either to attack or to flee, at any moment.

"Have you all studied their faces?" Thunder asked.

"This won't be the last time we get to see it, will it?" the girl at the table asked incredulously.

"Oh, no. I have many pictures of many faces, my dear." He smiled slyly, gathering the papers to him and folding them back up. "Are the four of you willing to work together, and split the sum? I promise, there will be  _plenty_  to go around." He grinned more wolfishly his time.

Sasuke suddenly felt eyes on him. Probing, searching, reaching, picking eyes. His gaze flashed to the girl. She had sharp, angular features, made even more so by the shape of her thin, rectangular glasses. Sasuke thought that she was dressed like your everyday street walker, with tiny black shorts and a lilac belly shirt. Her long, thick red hair was pulled into two pigtails, and her long bangs were brushed to the right side. There was no indication of any weaponry on her.

"And who the fuck are you supposed to be?" Sasuke felt like asking. But he didn't. Instead, he asked quietly, and more calmly than he felt, "You're staring. Who are you?" He was already incredibly annoyed by her.

"My name is Karin." She replied softly. And sweetly. Much too sweetly. Sasuke had to force his body not to shudder involuntarily. "I know who you are." She said in a sing song voice.

"I bet ya do, you slut." One of the guys hissed.

"One more word and I'll murder you, you slimy bastard!" Karin roared.

_Talk about an overreaction._ "With what? I don't see any weapons on ya." The man returned cheekily. Sasuke scoffed.  _Exactly what I—_

"Now, now," Thunder said. "I really don't want to have to kill any more people and dirty Nancy's floor again, so why don't we all try and work together, hmm?"

Karin spluttered, as though she might disagree, but in the end she gave in with a roll of her eyes.

"Now, let's have you all state your names and what you excel at. For example, you might excel at recon or something." Thunder turned to the man on his left, who had been absolutely silent during this entire meeting.

"My name is… Beast." He said carefully. He was easily the second largest at the table. He had orange hair that seemed to be styled or spiked somehow.  _He has such odd eyes._ Sasuke hadn't seen anyone with that eye color. They were a red-orange color, like a sunrise.  _How odd,_ Sasuke mused once more. His skin was quite pale. Sasuke could only see the top portion of Beast, but it appeared he wore a rough, black cloak with a cowl. A thick, silver chain ran around his neck and down, but Sasuke could not see what sort of item or pendent hung off of the chain. "I don't work well with others… But—"

"Then what good are you, huh?" Karin burst in irately and rather rudely if Sasuke had anything to say about it—which he didn't.

"But," Beast went on as though Karin had never interrupted, "That is because I have an extreme form of bipolar disorder. When I'm like this, I'm fine… But otherwise, I'm essentially a killing machine. So basically, you should keep an eye on me while we're working together."

"Wouldn't you just be a danger to us, then?" Karin asked skeptically. "We should drop you while we have the chance."

"Aww come on, don't be such a bitch." That other man muscled into the conversation now. Sasuke didn't even want to look at him. He was already grating on his nerves. "If he's a killin' machine, then we need him. Case closed."

"Alright, mister 'Beast'," Karin sneered, placing air quotes around "Beast", "Why don't you tell us why you want this money. You're a monk. Just go lock yourself up in a mission somewhere, why don't you?"

At first, Beast looked surprised. Then, after recovering, he said quietly, "There are none that will accept me. I do these sorts of things so that I have money to live on."

Karin spat at him. "Hypocrite."

"Hey, bitch." The other man said warningly. "Yer gettin' way too personal. Lay the fuck off, huh? Oh, wait, is it my turn now?" suddenly he seemed almost excited.

Sasuke barely prevented his head from hitting the table. Maybe he would just kill them all once they set out. Well, maybe not Beast. He wasn't so bad, really. At least his personality seemed to be bearable to an extent.

"Ya'll can call me the Love Machine," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively before Karin whacked him upside the head. "Fine," he grumbled. "Barracuda. Fer serious this time!"

Finally, Sasuke spared the man a look, giving him a quick once over. He had shaggy white hair, which wasn't seen very often, if at all. His pale lavender eyes were also very unique. He had razor sharp teeth. Sasuke immediately took him to be from Chóra Neroú **[7]**. He was very slim and pale, and he had a very mischievous quality to him that somehow intrigued Sasuke.

"To be honest," he was saying, "I could totally just do this on my own. But you guys can come along for the ride if you really think you can keep up with me."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, really?" he challenged with soft menace.

Barracuda sneered. "Really."

"Keh. Try me."

"Also," he continued, just a bit more seriously, "the money doesn't matter as much to me. I can get jack where I want, when I want, how I want. It's just that I'm kinda headed over that way, s'all." He explained with a shrug. "Oh, by the way, I do reconnaissance work, and infiltration and spy type work the best. That includes assassination and stuff. I'm great in combat, too, but I'm better at that stuff more than anything." He laughed suddenly. "Something me 'n Beast here got in common! The kill…" he said, laughing again. "Well, actually, I'm different 'cuz I love it!"

"Good to know." Sasuke muttered.

"My turn now!" Karin cried next to Sasuke. He cringed lightly. "Well, I'm Karin." She said almost bashfully.

"Yeah, the only idiot out of all of us to give out their real name!" Barracuda snickered.

Karin glared, but went on as though she hadn't heard. "I have an ability that allows me to see what kind of soul people have. You," she giggled, eyeing Sasuke. "your soul is aligned with fire! How passionate!" Sasuke felt one of his eyebrows twitch involuntarily. "Oh yes! I can also translate from Pyroan and Latin to Anapnoi **[8]** , and back." She gave a rather self-satisfied smile.

Sasuke sighed.  _It's my turn…_ "I'm—" He began, and he nearly choked on what he was about to say. He could not give the name of a snake anymore.  _No… Never again._ His body wanted to shudder with hatred, but he maintained strict control. The next one on his mind was Panther, since cats were close to his clan. But he had a brief flashback of a large black cat in a tiny cage with dull lifeless eyes and— "Hawk." He stated firmly. "I am Hawk. I am also headed over that way, Barracuda." He acknowledged. "And, like you, I excel in killing, and in spy work. I am a good assassin, too. You could actually put me as a jack of all trades, however sometimes I become bored and drag out the fight… My techniques become a bit flashy." He shrugged. "It's not my fault if my opponent is weak."

"Damn straight!" Barracuda exclaimed, smacking the table in agreement.

"Oh, and before you misunderstand that jack-of-all-trades thing I just said," Sasuke added as an afterthought, "I'm not good at the medical aspect of things."

"Don't worry, Sasuke," Karin crooned. "I'll take care of that."

Sasuke tried not to gag.

"Is it settled then?" Thunder asked at length.

Those sitting around the table slowly nodded.

"Well then! Meet me tomorrow morning at the north gate at oh-six-hundred! I'll give you a map, those pictures, and your down payments there." He stood, the chair groaning as it was relieved of the huge man's massive weight. "Sleep well!"

Beast left the tavern swiftly. Barracuda eyed Sasuke curiously before taking his leave as well. But Karin lingered, openly staring at Sasuke. He could feel her boring holes into his back as he walked away and into the hallway where the rooms were. He sighed wearily, wondering if this might just be more of a hassle than he'd bargained for.

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) Metamfíesi - _"Disguise" in Greek_**

**2) Bokor - _a sorcerer who performs spiritual work for clients in return for gifts or money. Separating them from other voodoo practitioners, they "work with both hands". In other words, they will perform black magic and will-control, things that other practitioners will not._**

**3) Comeaux - _A Creole name; pronounced COH-moh_**

**4) Louis - _Pronounced LU-ee_**

**5) jack(s) - _slang for asími; is used in either the singular or plural form_**

**6) Gi Tou Chionioú -** _**Pyroan for "Land of Snow"** _

**7) Chóra Neroú - _Pyroan for Water Country_**

**8) Anapnoi - _This was in chapter 2, which was a while ago. So in case you've forgotten or don't wanna look back at other annotations (which I wouldn't if I were you :P) it's the the Land of Wind's, or Terra Ventus's equivalent to the Arabic language. Yay!..._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guess what? I'm not posting another chapter until I receive 5 reviews! :D Yay! And I'll get another chapter out sooner this time, I swear. But it's not gonna be posted until I have 5 (respectful) reviews. Anything shitty and bitchy and flamy will be deleted, kay? :D Rainbows and unicorn poop~! (It's only 10:41, but it's already been a long day. I apologize.)


	6. V - Love and Resistance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back! Still extremely busy, but I'm trying my damnest! DX Okay, so this chapter is somewhat shorter than the others, which may not make sense for all the time it took to get it out. But not only was I super super busy, I had a bad case of writers block this time a round on top of everything. But at least my college orientation is over and I have a bunch of stuff figured out.
> 
> To prove to ya'll that I am really really trying, I'll tell you that instead of applying for an on-campus job (like a normal job, not a work study) to help me pay for text books etc, I was finishing this up all day.
> 
> I have 3, soon to be 4 fanfictions I'm working on. Not a smart move, as I'm thinking about double majoring.
> 
> I want to rip my hair out, scream, and jump off of a bridge into icy water. Not necessarily in that order.
> 
> One of the characters introduced in this chapter can't speak Latin very well, so his speech pattern is a little funny. Just letting you know, it's supposed to be that way.
> 
> Also, there isn't any money mentioned in this chapter, but since I said I'd put it in every chapter for a while, I put it underneath the annotations at the end.
> 
> OH. Speaking of annotations. Look at the 3rd annotation as you read. If you go down to #3 when you see the bolded, bracketed number in the text, you'll keep on reading the fic after that and be like, ohhh this makes so much seeennsee! So yeah.
> 
> WARNING: mild sexual content featuring Kakashi and Iruka. Very mild, but suggestive. (I just have to put this warning in here so it's not unexpected :P) Also, some not-quite-so-mild sensuality, still with KakaIru, but dealing with, ah, blood. Yeah.
> 
> Enjoy~

_Subconsciously taking a step forward, Naruto whispered, "We have to help them."_

_"No." Anko said firmly. Yet, Naruto could hear that her voice shook, ever so slightly. "We must find out which gang this is before doing anything. Then we'll try to sneak down there, get supplies for the third leg of this journey, and leave as quickly as possible. We will find another cavern and take shelter there. At that moment, we need to contact the Hokage and make her aware of the –"_

_A shrill cry stole the group's attention. A small girl was streaking out of the village. But suddenly, the sand underneath her almost seemed to shift, and she fell. Naruto could barely see from his height, but there was something protruding from the sand, and grasping the little girl's ankle. A large, thin grey dog ran out after her and began barking and snarling and snapping his teeth in her face. Although he seemed to be without a master, he did not harm her. The nearby villagers grew quiet, and Naruto knew that they watched, because their work slowed ever so slightly. A tall, fat and rather barrel-chested man lumbered heavily out of the village. The dog backed off, lowering its head submissively, and the man patted it almost affectionately. He had a long, bushy black beard which he stroked almost lovingly. His back was to the travelers, but he seemed to be taking something out of his pocket. Naruto's eyes widened in horror when he saw what it was. It was a split leather whip, with hooked metal tips. And before the man even reached his arm back to strike the girl, Naruto had leapt off the side of the ledge._

"Naruto, stop! Wait!"

Paying no heed, Naruto attacked the man holding the whip with a flying kick to the head. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he spun and chopped the aggravated dog in the neck, producing a sickening crack. With the opposite hand he whipped out one of his smaller swords, Armyne, and cut the little girl free from the earth where she was anchored. The others had caught up to Naruto by now, and as he gathered the little girl into his arms, Sakura ushered him forward.

"Go! Go!" she cried urgently.

The slaves continued to work out of fear for their lives, but there was a sudden onslaught of men running toward the group, weapons in hand. So much dust was suddenly kicked up around them that Naruto couldn't see a thing. It was in his eyes, and in his nose and his mouth. He couldn't breathe. All around him were angry cries of a mob. It sounded like a battle was raging around him, but Naruto couldn't see a thing.

"Just stay very still. It's okay." Sakura's voice murmured close to his ear.

_Oh._  Naruto thought with relief.  _It's her magic… It's just her magic…_

"If we're lucky," she murmured, "Some of them will simply kill each other… We need to find the others and get out of here."

Naruto had no idea what Sakura was doing, but he held onto that little girl like a life line. It was all he could do at the moment, and she was terrified. One by one, the other three members of their party joined together.

"Join hands so that we don't get separated. I'll lead us out." Sakura said.

It was slow going, and dangerous, but soon, they were outside of the cloud of dust.

"Whew!" Lee wiped his forehead. "That was interesting!" He turned to the little girl in Naruto's arms and smiled brightly. "I am so happy that you are okay, little one! My name is Lee, and these are my friends! We will take you back to your family now, okay?"

"Can we even do that?" Sakura muttered.

"We must." Anko replied.

"But we should at least have disguises… or something…" Sakura returned uncertainly.

They were in a relatively safe place at the moment. Sakura had led them out of the rabble and to a place where the village was in sight, but far enough away that no one could see them. But Naruto guessed that even now, they might be looking.

"Only one of us should go in." Lee decided. "It would be safer that way. Less obvious, and the person would be less noticable than a group of five could be."

"You've gone on too many missions where Kakashi tags along, huh? You're starting to sound a bit like him!" Anko teased. "Fine. One person. But it has to be Naruto." When Lee began to protest, Anko hushed him. "Ya know why? Because he's the one that's gonna break us in there. Since this isn't at all normal for this town, we have to find out what we can while we're here. It most likely has a connection to the situation in Arena Vicus."

Lee sighed, defeated. "Okay…"

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed as an idea hit him suddenly. "I don't even need a disguise!"

"What do you mean?" Anko asked doubtfully.

Naruto was drawing some complex looking signs in the sand **[1]**. "It's because…" He finished, and bit his thumb. "I have this!"

He slammed his palm into the center of the design and, out of thin air, a frog appeared, as tall as Naruto and three times as wide.

"This guy's a burrowing toad. He'll sniff out where the scent of this girl is concentrated while he's underneath the sand, and then once he's sure he's found it, he'll come back and tell us!"

As Naruto said this, the toad took the hint, inhaling big whiffs of the little girl. She cowered back as far as she could, and even swatted at the toad once. Then very suddenly, the toad disappeared under the sand.

"Right…" Anko sighed, looking toward the village. "Anyway, we should lay low for now. Who knows if this girl's family will turn us in or not… We should set up a watch system like we usually would for camping out somewhere, just in case something was to happen."

The three others nodded in agreement.

"We have a duty to save these enslaved people!" Lee proclaimed.

"No…" Anko murmured, glancing at the little girl. "We have a mission, and we need to carry out this mission. But there may be information here that will aid us. So we're sticking around for that, as well as whatever food we can get. At best, we'll leave when the backup I've sent for arrives."

"That means we'll be hiding out here for three days!" Naruto cried in dismay.

"Yeah, well… Hopefully, they'll hurry."

The sand unexpectedly gave way right underneath Naruto, revealing the back of the big toad.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted indignantly as he stumbled backward. He couldn't manage to regain his footing and landed right on his bum.

"I've located the place where the little human girl resides at." The toad said. "That place, as well as the surrounding area, is currently empty. There is no one inside the home. It's safe."

"Awesome! Thanks! Could you just follow us through the tunnel?" Naruto asked the toad as he stood and brushed himself off.

"Of course."

Down the tunnel they went. This was fairly dangerous, considering the  _interesting_ creatures that reside in the sand, but as it was close to the village, Naruto was not worried. They would get there before anything could happen.

Sure enough, soon the tunnel began to slope upward. Naruto began to fall back behind the others, until he was near the toad.

"So as soon as we're all out—and make  _sure_  we're out, okay?—collapse this tunnel. Alright?"

"Got it!"

The end was in sight. Naruto heard a gasp as the first people climbed out of the tunnel. There may not have been anyone there when the toad checked it all out, but there was a man there now. He was young, probably thirty at most, but his hair was already beginning to take on a charcoal grey coloration at the roots.

The man mumbled something almost incoherently in his own language, his expression quite alarmed. Anko said something back, but Naruto couldn't understand any of it, so it went right over his head. Anko seemed like he was trying to calm the man. She reached out for the little girl, and led her to the man. The man, with tears in his eyes, fell to his knees, his arms outstretched. The little girl ran to him. Her face remained blank, but she threw her arms around his neck and held on like she would die if she let go.

Suddenly the man's—Naruto assumed it was the father—demeanor changed. He ushered the others inside the home—even though they were technically already inside—with extended arms. The girl was still attached to him, but the man was moving around as though he didn't even notice.

"Hi!" he happily exclaimed in Latin. He then said something again in Anapnoi **[2]**.

Anko translated for the group. "He is saying that his name is Zeta, and his daughter's name is Ebru. They both thank us very much for saving Ebru, and Zeta is saying that we're welcome to stay."

Anko continued conversing with Zeta as the man fiddled around with a wooden crate. From it, he removed a long, ruddy brown snake and allowed it to hang on one of his arms. He took a scrap of parchment, made a mark on it in chalk, and stuffed it into a wooden tube. After strapping it securely to the back of the snake, he let it go, and it shimmied its way under the sand. The whole group was visibly tense after this. Naruto wanted to ask what it meant, and he hoped that Anko would.

Well, Anko did in fact gather the group around her, telling them, "He's alerting a young man, who is in favor of freeing the village, about our presence. He'll be coming for us around nightfall."

Everything up to that moment had been a bit of a blur, happening very quickly. But from then on, all they could do was wait.

Naruto sighed. It was early evening now, and Anko had assigned herself the first watch. There was no food to eat, though his stomach was growling very loudly. He absently began polishing his swords, one by one, so meticulously that there was not a dull area on any of his blades. He had to take care of them. They were his partners. Strong and proud, they would not falter at his side. It's what he liked to believe, even though he knew that they would crack and rust one day.

The blonde heaved another sigh. The little girl—Ebru—was sitting in a corner of the home with her knees drawn into her chest, staring blankly in front of her. She was humming softly, some tune Naruto had never heard before, and probably would never hear again. He shifted into a more comfortable position, and allowed his eyes to slowly flutter shut.

* * *

_What a sight I must make,_  Kakashi grimly mused to himself as he slowly limped through the thick brush and vegetation. There was no path before him: only the dense wilds that surrounded most of Scorched Elm. He pulled his cloak closer about himself, knowing that even in the event that he were to be seen, this was futile. Thin, grey tendrils of smoke rose from his body like a beacon—an SOS signal. His left cheek was burning red, and from the fresh, hot cracks in the once porcelain flesh, flew tiny cinders, as though a fire were slowly smoldering within his skin.

He was weak and lethargic. He kept telling himself that the castle was close, and it  _was_ close. If he kept going, he would be there before nightfall. It was now dusk.

Although it happened suddenly, it was as if it was happening to someone else, and not Kakashi. Arrows flew at him with lightning speed, from all around him. He didn't count how many times he was hit. He couldn't catalogue where all of the arrows hit him. He was simply hit, and his mind simply registered the pain. But Kakashi did have enough strength left in him to keep his head held up; even after falling to his knees.

His hood was roughly jerked back, and Kakashi vaguely registered the gasps of shock and awe from around him. They were faces were in the shadow of their hoods, and so were invisible to Kakashi. But they were obviously elves. He relaxed almost immediately, despite his dire situation.

"'Tis a vampire," one of them whispered in Quenya.

"Yes, during the day, too!"

"A vampire?!"

Kakashi had to roll his eyes. No vampire would have been able to make it during the day.  _These dipshits…_

"I am a dhamphir **[3]** … Not a vampire…"

The one whom Kakashi now assumed was the leader gripped him tightly by the collar. "What the hell is a dhamphir doing in elf territory?" he spat. "We have no trouble with vampires."

"Speak with… Tsunade… 's important…" Kakashi managed to get out. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to speak.

"Tch. Thou canst say that to her face if she ever decides to let thou out of the dungeon!"

Kakashi sighed wearily and dociley let them drag him away. At least he would get into the castle, for sure.

He was an attention getter, for sure, being dragged through the streets of Scorched Elm. If he had the energy to spare he would have rolled his eyes again at the amount of stares he was receiving. But sooner than he thought, he was at the foot of the castle. There, Kakashi was handed over to guards that brought him around to another side. He didn't really know where he was anymore, he was a bit too weary to pay attention to all of his surroundings. He just knew that suddenly, it was dark, and he was going down. He sighed.  _Typical. At least it's dark._  He thought optimistically.

As they threw him on the ground in one of the cells, he wondered how long he would have to stay down here before someone thought to look…

He pulled a weak, yet somehow cocky grin at the thought.  _Fuck that_.

Being a dhamphir, Kakashi was able to utilize many powers that any vampire possessed. One of these was a form of telekinesis. It was extremely tiring in his current state, but Kakashi was able to reach up as far as the first floor of the castle. He felt no one but servants there, unfortunately. Kakashi sucked in a breath. His strength was going, fast. He gathered what he could of himself and forced his consciousness up and out as high and far as he could. He issued a silent scream for Tsunade, hoping that someone of importance might hear him in their minds. But that was all he could do, for Kakashi's strength had left him. He fell almost immediately after that into a shallow, restless sleep.

* * *

"Damn it! I said,  _let me through_!"

Kakashi blinked himself fully awake.

"Sir, we can't do that…" one of the guards replied in strongly accented Pyroan.

"You're mistakenly holding someone here! He is of great importance to my Hokage! Let me through!"

_… Iruka?_  No, it couldn't be. Kakashi mentally scratched that possibility. _Why would he be here of all places? Although school is still out of session..._

"But how can  _you_  know that?"

"I know! I  _know_ , damn it!"

_Shit. It_  is _him, isn't it. I'd know that temper anywhere…_ Kakashi mustered up what little strength he had left and shoved himself against the bars of his cell.

"Iruka?" He called out weakly. He shocked himself by how hoarse and strained his own voice sounded. It didn't sound quite human.

There was a pause, and then, Iruka timidly called back, "Kakashi?"

Kakashi couldn't reply. He just closed his eyes, waiting, knowing that Iruka would race for him.

"Kakashi!"

_—Clang!—_

He was there. Kakashi didn't need to have all of his heightened senses to know that. Iruka was at those bars, fumbling with the keys ( _How did he get a hold of those?)_  to free him. A smile played weakly at Kakashi's lips, and when Iruka's form collapsed onto his own, he sighed in contentment—perhaps relief. He breathed deeply, letting the familiar scent that was plainly and simply  _Iruka_  clear his mind of everything.

"Kakashi," Iruka muttered, breaking him out of his contented reveling. "You need medical treatment…"

"Nah…" Kakashi murmured. "I'll be fine. Just need sleep 'n stuff…"

Iruka pulled Kakashi half-way onto his back and began hauling him toward what Kakashi assumed were stairs that led into the castle.

"But sir! He's a _—_ "

Kakashi could only imagine the glare that Iruka shot at the guard.

* * *

It was getting cold. "Naruto," Sakura murmured, waking the blonde out of a half sleep. "Can I scoot closer?" Without speaking he nodded and fell back asleep almost immediately.

It was after that, that he awoke fully with a start. The door had opened with a bang, and everyone in the small home was on their feet at once.

Lee, who'd been on watch, was the first to attack.

… But he was hastily stopped by Anko before any damage could be done. "That person that our host spoke about—this is him."

A dark, lithe figure stood in the doorway of the hovel. His countenance was many years too young to appear so stern. He looked to have experienced many things in his young life. He had a soft, yet defined jaw, a strong nose, and dark, thick eyebrows that scowled. His dark, hazel grey eyes were as cold as steel, and perhaps a bit sad. But who knows? Naruto could find no true emotions revealed on his visage that so scrutinized his now rather ragtag group.

"My name is Koray, son of Chieftain Najat." He introduced himself to the room flatly, in thickly accented Latin. "I am leader of rebel forces in town. There are not many who still support our cause. But I heard that you have saved little girl..." He glanced at Ebru. "Will you join us in throwing enemy out of this town?"

Anko sighed. "Which clan is it? Do you know?"

Koray spat in the sand, disgust and anger very briefly darkening his face. "Of course we know! The Menkure clan." He bit out.

"Alright." Anko said. "We'll help you out as long as we're here. We have friends who will be here in about 2 days that will finish the job."

Koray nodded. "Alright. Come. You mustn't stay here… not safe. I will show safe place to spend night for those like you." After a pause, he added, "Ebru must also come. She is thought to have been kidnapped."

Anko sighed heavily. In Anapnoi, she told Zeta everything. Zeta looked stricken suddenly, and clutched onto Ebru as if she were his lifeline. But gently, so gently, Sakura pulled Ebru from his arms. He looked like he was breaking. Ebru also looked like she might cry, but she didn't.  _Strong girl,_ Naruto thought. One by one, they left the house of sand and entered the shadow of night. Naruto wanted to look back at Zeta, perhaps give him some form of comfort… But the door was shut before he had a chance, and they were suddenly moving too swiftly for him to be thinking of such matters.

There were enemy guards everywhere. It was very difficult to move without almost running into one. But Koray led them safely through the streets… and eventually, they were able to leave the village.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked, but was immediately shushed by Koray.

"Be quiet." He whispered. "They watch still, even here."

They travelled up to a ridge that overlooked the village, and then down into a tight, rather oppressive passageway leading inside the cliff face. They went single-file, taking slow, careful steps. It was completely dark for a moment, but then suddenly, there was light coming from in front of them. In a mere moment, the passage widened considerably and revealed a lit cavern. It was massive, but only occupied with a small assortment of people.

"This is the place we live." Koray said, not looking back at the others. "Come. I will show you my father."

Naruto and the group followed him quietly. The blonde glanced out of the corner of his eye at the little girl, holding on tightly to Sakura's hand. He really felt bad for her. She had to be no older than five.

Men and women stopped what they were doing and looked on at them. It was an awkward feeling. The stares were almost hostile. Naruto couldn't tell if he felt sadness or hatred from these beings. But then again, he wasn't really trying to decipher anything.

They had ascended three flights of stairs already. The blonde was truly beginning to wonder where the heck this chief was being kept. That is, until a shabby, blue curtain was held aside to reveal an opening into a rough, makeshift room.

"My father." Koray stated. "Please, low voices. He is ill, and resting."

Slowly, the group stepped into the room. It was dim, and smelled absolutely rank. Incense was burning in all corners of the room, but it was unable to cover up the stink of decay and death. And there in the back center of it all, was a man, with a sunken face and yellowed skin, and lips so pale they were translucent. He lay in a bed that made his sickly body appear small. His hands grasped for something that they could not reach, and Koray suddenly ran to his side, helping him up slightly and bringing a thin skin of water to his parched lips.

"This is my father. The chieftain, Najat." Koray murmured. He began muttering into his father's ear, and Naruto was sure that he wouldn't have been able to understand even if he had heard it.

A small, pained smile came across Najat's face, before it settled back into a neutral expression, or rather, the lack of expression.

Koray stood to face Naruto and the others. "I told him you are here to help." He hesitated slightly, before continuing, more uncertainly this time. "You are to help, yes?"

Naruto punched the air in front of him enthusiastically. "Believe it!"

Lee fist pumped next to him, shouting, "Of course! These people who are occupying your village are terrible! We must put them out immediately!"

"But… we're only here until the other team gets here." Sakura reminded the boys.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Lee crossed his arms, slightly disappointed by this.

"We shouldn't waste any more time." Anko said. "Koray, is there a place we could use to plan out some form of action for tomorrow?"

"Yes." Koray's eyes brightened at the prospect of taking immediate action, and ushered the group outside the room. "Will everyone take part in meeting, or Anko only?"

"It will only be me, and then I'll relay back to my team what they're gonna be doing."

"Come." Koray motioned for the group to follow, and he lead them down one flight of stairs. "This is where we quarter you. Women to left, men to right. First, I will show women to their room. The rest, stay, and wait for me to return."

As Koray left with Sakura, Ebru and Anko, Naruto elbowed Lee in the rib. "What do ya think of this place? Did they build this like, overnight or something?"

"… What kind of question is that, Naruto?"

"Well, I mean, since the Menardy or what the hell ever clan probably freaked them out a ton, they probably really hurried to run away and then built this!" Naruto definitely thought that it was possible.

Lee sighed in exasperation. "No, Naruto. You see, this is like those storm shelters that we have back home. They have disastrous sand storms in this area, and this shelter is meant to both take cover from them, and is also used while recovering from them. They most probably send women, children and the elderly here when there has been a particularly bad storm, and they have to rebuild many things."

"How do you know all this?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Umm… It's more of a guess really." Lee replied sheepishly. "But that aside, everyone here is so terribly despondent. If only we could break through the language barrier and let them know that they now have a new, youthful hope!"

Naruto sighed and nodded in agreement with Lee. It would be great if they could let the citizens know that they could put their trust in them.

"But," Naruto mused, "I think that they'll be told eventually. I think that Koray will tell them."

"And he's back!" Lee exclaimed.

"Huh? Oh! He is!"

Koray returned to the boys where they waited at the foot of the stairs. Anko was with him.

"Now you will follow me and I will show you your place." Koray turned to Anko with a very serious expression. "I ask you stay here, and if anything happens, scream as loud as you can, and I or another will come."

Naruto snorted almost in unison with Anko. "Dude, do you even—"

"I'll be sure to do that." Anko replied, effectively cutting Naruto off. "But I'm sure that I'll be fine."

As they walked away to where the men apparently stayed, Naruto said to Koray, "Ya know, you don't have to worry about Anko. She's really strong. Like, scary strong."

Koray did not look at him. But when he replied, his voice remained very stiff. "If you believe she is strong, I fear for your country."

"What did you just say?!" Naruto fumed.

"I will not allow you to insult our village!" Lee shouted angrily.

They had stopped walking. Koray did look at the both of them, then. "Women must be cared for and handled delicately. They are hard workers, but fragile in mind and body. They are natural prey of men. Perhaps is different in your home, but in our home, women do not fight. If they fight, they are beaten easily because body of woman is weak."

"I don't fucking understand where you're coming from." Naruto replied. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had gotten him quite so miffed.

"I understand the variance between cultures," Lee began, "But our women are trained to fight when they are young. Many of them use magic. Anko and Sakura are some of the scariest fighters in the village, due to their magic use, intellect and simple brute strength."

"Yeah, so if you start saying this stuff in front of Sakura, don't expect her to be as graceful about it as Anko was. Her temper's hella worse!"

Koray stared at them both for a moment. He had remained expressionless since the beginning. Finally, he shrugged, and turned away, leading them to their room. When he pulled away the curtain to reveal it, Naruto found it to be much like the place where Najat was staying. Through the makeshift door were amenities such as a couple jugs of water, a washbasin, a bed pan, and a few blankets.

"We have had dinner, so there will be food brought to you soon." And with that, Koray left Naruto and Lee to their own devices.

* * *

The next thing Kakashi knew, he was in a warm bed. Something smelled absolutely delectable.

"Oh. So, you finally decided to wake up?"

_Tch. I haven't even opened my eyes yet…_

"Mhmm." His voice was still extremely hoarse. He sat up and coughed a bit.

There was the splashing of water nearby. When Kakashi turned his head to look, he was not at all surprised to see Iruka leaning over the side of a large, gold inlaid tub. He wasn't sure how deep it was, but it was circular from what he could see, stretching at least four meters in diameter.

Iruka rested his head on his arms and smiled. "Feeling rested?"

No, in fact, he was not. He needed his medicine— _desperately_. He hadn't taken it for a couple of days, and being weak and injured, he was exceedingly… parched.

"Iruka…" he croaked out.

Iruka lifted his head, gazing at him with concern.

"Medicine…" Kakashi rasped. Speaking made his throat very itchy, he decided. "I'm thirsty…"

Iruka sighed and rolled his eyes. Kakashi could hear his tail swishing restlessly in the water. "Well," Iruka began, feigning reluctance. "If you can draw up the strength to crawl on over here, I might consider helping you out with that…" Then Iruka smirked. "But first, you have to eat that." He pointed to something over Kakashi's shoulder. "Feed your stomach first, and then we'll talk."

Kakashi growled feebly in annoyance. Of course it'd be like this. But he wasn't very annoyed when he saw what he was to be thinking, he was in a castle, and was close to the Hokage, therefore he'd be treated like an honorable guest. In this fashion, of course it would be perfectly rational to expect such a gourmet meal. The steak was bloody, yet so tender it nearly melted in his mouth. He could've cried, the feeling was so beautiful.

"Don't eat too fast!" Iruka warned.

The potatoes were exquisite as well, mashed to perfection with melted cheese and colorful peppers diced so small Kakashi decided that they'd used faeries to do it. Of course they hadn't, but to a starving man, everything about food is both perfect and miraculous.

When Kakashi finally finished eating, he gave a big, contented sigh. Iruka chuckled quietly in response.

Kakashi turned back to him with some concern and asked, "So how long was I out?"

"You got here this evening, so not long, really." Iruka answered. "Do you want to go report to the Hokage soon?"

Kakashi nodded.

Iruka nodded as well. "Come here." He said.

Kakashi dragged himself out of bed and toward Iruka and the tub. "Can I still…?"

Iruka sighed in annoyance. "Yes! Yes you can."

"I'll take a bath while I'm at it, then."

"Good!" His lover replied flippantly. "You smell like you need it." Iruka pushed away from the side of the tub and gestured to an end that had a metal rail and stairs. "Take your clothes off and come in here. But you'll be clean before you dare to indulge yourself, you hear me?" He quipped sternly before ducking under the water for a moment.

As much as Kakashi was suffering right now, it was considerably less than before since he had food in his stomach. Adding to that, he had actually gotten to peacefully sleep for a little bit. He was therefore able to notice, and as a result appreciate, just how truly beautiful Iruka was in his true form. That lovely golden brown body would begin to sparkle slightly the further down his waist Kakashi gazed. Bronze and gold scales that were sprinkled over Iruka's lower abdomen and back thickened and tightened, moving down the rest of his body with the fluidity of silk. Iruka flicked a dark, wet strand of hair out of his face, and leaned back against the edge of the tub. His eyes were different, too. The pupils were now thin slits, the color of the irises ebbing and flowing between metallic forest green and silky dark chocolate. He was patient as the silver haired man took his clothes off carefully, with near-aching slowness, most likely knowing that he was trying not to use up too much energy in the process. Finally, Kakashi slid his burned and bloodied body into the water, wincing at the sensation of it sliding over his ravaged skin. He sat on the steps to the entrance into the tub and looked pointedly at the merman.

"Soap?" he asked.

"Ah!" Iruka twisted around and, after grabbing a tube of shampoo, tossed it to Kakashi. "Here."

Kakashi languidly worked his fingers through his hair, working up a good lather, rinsing, and repeating. It was a calming sensation, and it felt so good to have clean hair. It had been almost a month since he had felt like this. He set the shampoo bottle on top of the water, too lazy to toss it to Iruka. Iruka, in turn, sighed in annoyance, and tossed a container of body wash and a luffa to Kakashi.

"I'll wash your back for you, okay?"

Kakashi rolled onto his back, allowing the water to partially support him. He sighed contentedly as Iruka scrubbed caked blood and dirt off of his body. Iruka was so, so _close_  to him.

When he'd finished washing himself, Kakashi quickly dipped under the water once and then shook himself like a wet dog. When Kakashi opened his eyes, he was shocked to see Iruka right in front of him, so  _close_ , and  _smirking_  at him, like he knew something Kakashi didn't. When Iruka gently took his hands, Kakashi felt the soft webbing between his fingers. They were so translucent that one couldn't notice any other way than touch. Iruka pulled him further down the stairs and into the tub, so that Kakashi ended up being chest deep in the water. He attempted to wet his cracked and sore lips that suddenly seemed even more dry, but to no avail. Iruka's smile grew, and his tanned arms encircled Kakashi's neck. The silver haired man felt a soft, silky tail wrap around the backs of his thighs, and somehow, he felt a bit better for it. As he trailed lazy fingers down Iruka's neck, he had to wonder—not for the first time—if it was strange that he was extremely sexually attracted to a merman…

"I'm waiting. I thought you were thirsty?" Iruka quipped impatiently. He tilted his head, exposing his neck in a seductively submissive way.

A shudder passed through Kakashi's body. He threaded his hand into Iruka's hair and gripped his hip to stabilize him. He lowered his lips to Iruka's neck. He could smell it. Tasting the wet skin on his tongue, he felt Iruka's pulse jump slightly, indicative not only of anticipation, but of the fear Kakashi's prey felt. He was beyond words now, just barely holding himself back from sinking his teeth into Iruka's soft flesh, but the receding part of him that was human disliked this fear. He attempted to comfort Iruka by pressing his head into his neck, and kissing that so soft skin right behind his ear. But, weak as he was, that was all Kakashi could stand to do. A low, feral growl escaped his lips as he jerked Iruka's head to the side a bit more, allowing him to comfortably sink his fangs through the merman's skin. Iruka hissed softly in pain.

A warm, thick liquid flooded Kakashi's mouth almost immediately. With each gulp, his pulse lept, and a heady feeling akin to drunkenness engulfed him. Kakashi leaned into Iruka, relishing this forbidden sensation. He felt Iruka's fingers tangle in his hair as he lapped at the puncture wounds.

"Mmm… Kakashi… Iruka slurred.

Kakashi nipped at Iruka's ear, growling possessively. The brunette's hand gently slid down Kakashi's neck, and Kakashi caught it, bringing it to his mouth and kissing the palm. He drew Iruka's arm across his mouth, dragging his tongue and fangs across the skin. He met Iruka's hooded gaze and softly pierced the skin of his wrist. The brunette hung onto Kakashi's neck with his other arm, and with a quiet moan, he let his head fall onto Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi felt Iruka's tail wiggle slightly, trying to wrap a second time around one of his legs. He allowed a feral grin to spread across his face for a second. His entire body was throbbing with a beat that connected the both of them in a way that sex never would, and it was exhilarating.

Iruka squirmed again, this time in slight discomfort. "Kakashi…" he gasped out.

At that, Kakashi lapped at the puncture wounds, closing them up. He felt much, much better now. He lifted the light-headed Iruka off of him and carried him to the shallow waters of the stairs.

"Stay here." Kakashi murmured, pushing aside Iruka's damp hair. "I have to go to see the Hokage. But I'll be back, okay?"

Iruka nodded wearily, and after Kakashi was dressed in clean clothes, he took his leave of him. But after having found the exit to Iruka's suite, Kakashi realized that he had no idea where he was. Before he could use his telekinesis, a young elf was passing by. The elf was so androgynous that Kakashi was unable to identify the sex. Nonetheless, the elf peered at Kakashi suspiciously.

Suddenly, before a word exited Kakashi's mouth, the elf's eyes lit up. "Are you Kakashi Hatake?"

Kakashi raised his eyebrow slightly. "Yeah… That's me…?" he answered slowly in Sindarin.

"You will come with me, then." He or she answered.

The young elf took his arm and dragged him down a hallway, a few flights of stairs, and into a space with an extremely high ceiling. That place was incredibly beautiful in a rather plain sort of way. But Kakashi was hardly distracted by the inside of this palace; he'd seen it enough times not to be stunned by the distinctively elvish beauty of it.

"Go in the throne room, and then through the door in the back. Tell the guards why you're there and they'll let you through."

_Because that worked so well last time._ "Okay, thank you."

Kakashi sighed and walked through the high vaulted doors at the end of the hallway.

"Halt!" One large elf boomed in Quenya.

"I am here to see my Hokage, if it pleases thee, sir." Kakashi returned, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

"Identify thyself."

"Kakashi Hatake."

"Thou may enter."

Kakashi nodded respectfully and let himself into the office in the back of the throne room. Tsunade, doing nothing as usual, was startled when he entered.

Her expression turned immediately to relief when she saw that it was Kakashi. "Good," she said, "You're okay."

"Well," he said, feeling a bit sheepish now, "It's more because of Iruka that I'm okay…" When Tsunade raised an eyebrow, he continued. "I was taken prisoner by your guards outside of the village,  _again,_ and then Iruka got me out, and my meds had kind of run out, and, well _—_ "

"Alright, enough said." Tsunade broke in. "Now," she leaned over her desk, clasping her fingers together. "Talk."

Kakashi faced away from her and leaned against the desk. "Well… It looks pretty bad. It appears that Rice Agro Regionemin's daimyo ordered this new archaeological find to be kept secret. It's another of those large, oblong hunks of metal. Have you been able to research anything on those objects?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "I was going to request historical documents from Terra Ventus, but then the situation with their Kazekage arose… So now I have to wait for that…"

"Even more reason for the situation there to be resolved quickly," Kakashi murmured. "I'm confident that the team you've dispatched can complete the mission. Anyway, there's more. It appears that there is some unrest in Terra Fluctus. It's spilling over into Rice Agro Regionemin. What's going on is that insurgents of an unknown variety are travelling into Rice Agro Regionemin with weapons, and they exchange those for currency and more weapons. These weapons are of the Old variety." Tsunade gasped, but Kakashi continued. "What's more, it seems that one of the clans in the Iron Desert are working with the insurgents from Terra Fluctus, and they both meet twice a month in Rice Agro Regionemin. Terra Fluctus also supplies weapons for the clan. Now I found all of this out quite accidentally, I was only there to spy on Rice Agro Regionem and their new archaeological acquisition."

Tsunade nodded slowly, soaking all of the information in. "Hand a detailed report into me by noon tomorrow. I'll look it over, and then we'll figure out what to make of this. In the meantime, notify the village that you've arrived safely."

Kakashi nodded and turned to leave, but suddenly checked himself and turned back.

"Uh… Tsunade," He began uncertainly. "How do I get back to Iruka's room?"

Tsunade sighed. Just then, the door slammed open behind Kakashi. When he turned around, a ghostly white man strolled into the room.

"Oh, good, Eru! Just the man I need!" Tsunade exclaimed. The elf, obviously Eru, rolled his eyes. "Can you go out again and ask one of the servants to take Kakashi back to his room?"

"Back into _—_ " He stuttered. "Why doesn't he want his own room?" Eru inquired bemusedly.

Tsunade sighed impatiently as Kakashi attempted to halt the blush spreading across his cheeks. "Oh, just do it!" The woman snapped.

Eru through his hands up. "Fine! It was just a question!"

He left again, and in a moment came back with an elf cloaked in a blue robe and blue silk slippers.

Eru glanced at Kakashi and said, "This servant will bring you to Master Iruka's room."

The dhamphir almost snorted at "Master Iruka". He allowed himself to be led out of the office, out of the throne room, and into the large, marble hallway.

As they walked toward a staircase, Kakashi asked in Sindarin, "In Iruka's suite, do you know if there is any amenity for writing?"

The servant nodded. "There is a small study in one of the rooms, sir."

Up another flight of stairs and down another corridor… Kakashi sighed. He didn't want to write a report. He hated writing reports.

"Here it is, sir." The servant bowed slightly and left him.

Kakashi opened the door and looked around.

"Iruka?"

It was fairly quiet, and Kakashi thought that he was perhaps asleep.  _I wonder where the study is…_

The door to the bedroom was cracked open.

"Iruka?" Kakashi called again, but more quietly this time.

There was a muffled sound from within the room. Kakashi decided to have a peek. He wasn't sorry when he did. Iruka was out of the water now, in the form of a man, and sprawled out in the center of the round, king-size bed that Kakashi had woken up in just a bit earlier. Squirming a bit, Iruka cracked open one eye and looked hazily at Kakashi.

"Kakashi?" he murmured, his voice slurred with sleep. He sat up a bit. "I thought you'd be gone longer, so I _—_ "

But Kakashi wasn't listening. He prowled up to the bed and ripped the sheets away from Iruka.

"Kaka _—_!" Iruka's eyes widened in surprise.

Kakashi leaned over Iruka's body and entangled his white fingers into dark hair, pulling him to his lips. There was no gentleness in the kiss, but what it lacked in tenderness it made up for tenfold with passion. Iruka moaned softly into Kakashi's mouth, his trembling hands finding purchase on Kakashi's shoulders.

"Iruka," Kakashi gasped as he pulled back. "Please… It's been more than a month…"

Iruka said nothing, but after briefly meeting Kakashi's mismatched eyes, he dove in once more for another heated kiss. Neither would ever say it, but they felt it: that mysterious, tragic, joyful, overwhelming emotion. Neither would say it, but both of them knew it—both of them felt it, as the two slowly melted into one.

* * *

"Hey, hey! Is it true that you actually killed Orochimaru?"

"…Huh?"

"Orochimaru. Did. You. Kill. Him."

Sasuke dragged his eyes across the fire until they rested on this… 'Barracuda'. He sighed.

"Yes." He answered tonelessly. "Is that all you wanted to know?"

"Nope." Barracuda grinned, showcasing his distinctive sharp teeth. "What's in the stuff ya been carryin'?"

As Karin yelled at Barracuda to leave Sasuke alone, the raven's eyes drifted over to the cloth sack he carried, along with his weaponry and money pouch.

"…Not sure."

Barracuda's jaw fell open. "How're ya not sure?"

Sasuke shrugged. He'd open it sometime. Just not yet. Now wasn't the time.

"You should open it!" Karin wheedled. "I wanna see what it  _is_ , Hawk! Please?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to stay his hand. No. He would not reach for his sword. He had not fallen so low that he would actually kill someone because they annoyed him.

He was an Uchiha.

He was an  _Uchiha_.

Murder was  _bad_.

"You bitch, shut up already!" Barracuda growled at Karin.

_They always fight. It's only the end of day one, and they can't stop fighting._

Sasuke stood, and the bickering subsided immediately.

"Where are you going?" Karin cooed, probably wanting to accompany him to some place  _private_.

"Aww leave 'im alone. He probably just needs to go take a piss or somethin'!"

Leaving behind the new wave of squabbling from those two, Sasuke wandered off into the desert a bit more—just enough that he couldn't hear or see them.  _At least that Beast guy stays pretty quiet,_ he thought with something akin to optimism. He built a fire for himself and nestled underneath an overhanging rock.

Before closing his eyes, he noticed that he could see a lot of stars in the sky. They were all so bright.

It was… pretty.

* * *

_**A/N:** _

**1) This is how I'm doing the summoning spells. Either something will have been pre-drawn on paper, or it will be drawn into the earth, and then there'll be the blood and the smoke and the appearance and the normal shit. The only thing different here is that instead of hand signs, it's drawn out signs. That's all that's different. And some of the drawn out signs are re-usable, depending.**

**2) Remember, Anapnoi is the language of Terra Ventus, aka the Land of Wind. Imagine it as Arabic.**

**3) (This is a lot, but I do ask that you read it!) dhamphir: _There are lots of different spellings for this, just like there are different spellings for the word "vampire". But what you need to know is this. A dhamphir is born from the union of vampire and human, thus becoming half human half vampire. The powers they have are similar to those of a vampire, but without the usual weaknesses. This is due to the dhamphir's human half. Essentially they are not weakened in the way that vampires are, but have most of the same powers. So they're pretty OP. They are commonly vagabonds and wanderers, selling themselves out as vampire hunters. They are the ultimate vampire hunter. I side particularly with the Albanian and Serbian lore. In Albania particularly, the child of a vampire is able to pick out his father or mother (the vampire, not the human) from a large crowd of other vampires. They live to kill this parent. They can sense where any vampire is in general as well but they acutely sense their own vampire parent. Albanian legend also states (in addition to other things of course) that dhamphirs have no shadow. As far as the Serbian lore goes, vampires will deflower virgins while taking their blood, so it's actually like a sexual experience. It's also said that vampires will come back to the ones that they loved in life and may impregnate them. So this is my take on dhamphirs. I also added to it, that they must sustain themselves both with food and drink, and also blood. And that the sun will harm them, just more slowly and not as badly. Kakashi here is up shit creek because he hasn't been feeding himself properly. What I have going for him is that he takes these pills that the Akamichi clan makes for him, as a blood substitute, so that he doesn't have to go around attacking random strangers. No, I'm not into the pop culture spin on them. All I care about, as far as pop culture goes, is Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D. The books I mean._**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> $0.10: 1 sídero (gold)
> 
> $1.00: 1 chalkós (silver) (slang: jack, scratch; jack used as plural form, and also referring to money/coin in general; scratch is singular, used only for chalkós)
> 
> $10.00: 1 asími (copper)
> 
> $100.00: 1 chrysós (iron) (slang: ferr; in Latin iron=ferrum, thus "ferr")
> 
> I didn't get 5 reviews like I wanted for chapter 4. Sadface. Oh, well. Maybe that's still too much to ask for, since I'm not a well known fanfic author :P But it's okay, since the 3 reviews I got were enough! I will reply immediately to any question you may have, and you'll see replies to any other reviews on the next chapter! Feel free to PM me! Even if flames melt my ice cream, they help me bake cupcakes!


	7. VI - We Must Move On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer in Prologue
> 
> xxxx
> 
> Okay... So, it's been a while. I know. Well, not as long on Ao3 as it has been on FFN... But I haven't actually posted a new chapter since like, July. I know that I probably lost some if not all of my readers. Especially because Naruto and Sasuke haven't even met yet, not even to speak of sex(the horror)! Well things have been pretty tough for me these past few months, but it's gotten better. I had to drop out of my first semester of college since I ended up not even leaving my dorm room at some point. I started seeing my counselor again since I was depressed and had the most crippling social anxiety I've ever had in my entire life. My counselor said it sounded like borderline agoraphobia. And then she suggested this neurologist to me (whom I see for chronic migraines) and he wanted to give me a blood test and a sleep study. That's what I've been doing since mid-January haha. So we found out that I have celiac disease a couple weeks ago from the blood test, and as a result am deficient in some things, including carbon dioxide, like wtf. But anyway, after that and the sleep study, he gave me anti-depressants which double as a sleep aid, and I'm really doing a lot better now. I'm feeling much more like myself and will be putting in a work application soon, along with testing for a few summer classes at the community college. The change in my diet I think really had a lot to do with it as well, though, as well as trying to work out more often. I've lost some weight :) Not that I have a ton to lose, exactly, but enough that I'd feel better about myself if I lost about 10 more pounds and actually looked like I'm in good shape, ya know? No idea if anybody even cares about any of this, but in case you do haha But yeah, I really won't apologize this time, since I've been going through a lot of things during the past few months. I mean, as frustrated with myself as I am that I'm posting this so late, it's somewhat justified, considering I did nothing for about 3 months because I was depressed to the point of not being able to eat. I'll try to update more often. Really, I will. But no promises.
> 
> I screwed up kind of bad. Past me is such an idiot. I should never have messed with words in other languages and the country names and cities and bullshit. But I did. And here I am. What happened was that I was a bit lazy, and didn't think things through enough. I should not have been so lazy. So I'm trying to fix everything to how I originally planned. Everyone from the Land of Fire (Gi tou Pyros in Greek and Terra Ignis in Latin) will speak Greek amongst themselves. Everything they say will be Greek. So place names = Greek, not Latin. However, Latin continues to be the universal language, so they speak it in the company of other nationalities/other people speak it within diverse groups. So that is when Latin place names are used. I think that names for items like the cancellus should remain in Latin, however, since this is an item that is made and sold everywhere. Anyway! I am now much more organized with a neat little key for myself laying out all the place names I have in both Latin and Greek. All from Google. Wow. Very translate. Much accurate. Wow. I made annotations for places people probably won't recognize anymore (even if they've been mentioned a million times) since they're in Greek now. I'm pretty sure I didn't change any of the previous chapters on this website, I may have only done that on my FFN account... Oh well. I'll get to it on here at some point, since I do like this site better haha
> 
> I wonder if anyone will understand the double meaning I placed in this chapter title. Hmm. We shall see. I doubt anyone cares, but it's fun for me to plug in that sort of thing.
> 
> xxxx
> 
> I have a Beta reader for this fic now. Her name is Sage of the Wolves, and she edited this chapter for me. Or I would say that except she didn't do anything to it... She said she liked everything and it was all fine... It makes me very uneasy since there was no criticism or anything... Not even anything about grammar or spelling or punctuation. Nothing. I'll try this again with the next chapter... But I dunno. I can't just be told something is fine and be expected to believe it, I mean, what? There's always room for improvement! Oh well... I hope this chapter is okay, anyway... I'm very uncertain about this, but I'm pretty much falling asleep while typing this. So, yeah.
> 
> *gently deposits chapter at 3am and crawls into bed*
> 
> Enjoy~!

Genma shivered. It was snowing again. Everything was grey, white, or black, and even if he looked up he didn't think he'd be able to spot Hayate. He continued jogging alongside Aoba and Gai, their breaths coming out in steady, billowing puffs.

It had been a shock at first, really. Finding out that Hayate was one of  _them_. But he wasn't one of  _them,_ really, it was complicated and involved magic, and frankly, Genma didn't want to think about it. It gave him a migraine every time he tried to figure out how people like Hayate operated. The fact was that Hayate had an extremely convenient little ability, allowing him to transform into any sort of bird at will. It was extremely convenient and extremely odd. Honestly…  _Stop trying to rationalize!_ Genma's mind chastised him. There was probably a very long and complicated explanation to it all, and he was sure Hayate would explain if he asked. But really, as if he could actually sit through a complicated lecture like that.

"We're getting close." Aoba's voice bounced slightly as he came up a bit closer to Genma.

Sure enough, Hayate chose that exact moment to take a nose dive right ahead of them, disappearing under the cover of the dense evergreens. The trio quickly approached where he'd landed. They slowed to a walk, meeting the brunet as he dusted himself off.

Hayate coughed. "I believe we've found them."

"How far?" Gai pressed.

"Keep your voice down!" Genma hissed.

"Not too much farther." Hayate made a vague gesture behind him. "We should get there within an hour." He coughed again. "But we need to move carefully now. We aren't alone anymore."

"What does that mean?" Aoba asked apprehensively.

"I'm not saying we're being followed." Hayate said, gesturing that they should follow him as he began walking away.

"But you're saying that we need to be  _extra_ vigilant, now." Genma finished.

"Exactly."

"This is a very delicate situation. If they  _are_  in fact dead – and I'm not doubting your sense of smell, Hayate!  **[1]**  – we might have more than just a confrontation on our hands if we get caught."

They continued walking in grim silence. Every man was coiled tightly with that alert anxiety that made their hearts thump loudly in their ears. The sound of a twig snapping or a squirrel scurrying through the trees would make their bodies twitch, ever so slightly, their eyes darting in that direction. They were ready to attack anything. The restless mood of the party appeared to cause time to slow down immensely. It seemed like forever before they finally stood before their fellow countrymen's bodies.

Aoba almost seemed to unconsciously take a step back, pausing as though he were extremely shocked. But that lasted for only a moment, and he came forward, rushing to the bodies.

He knelt down in front of one of them. "Magic?" He murmured. "No…"

"Any kind of magic, even in its subtlest form, will leave a trace." Gai said, kneeling down next to Aoba to examine the bodies.

"But… there's nothing here. There aren't even any visible wounds. At least, there are no external ones that we can see without taking off their uniforms." Aoba shook his head. "We'll have to get all four of these bodies back to Chorió Fỳlla  **[2]**. They need an autopsy."

"There is something…" Hayate coughed slightly, and tilted his head to the side in mystification. "It's a very faint scent, since it's old. All the same, I've never encountered anything like it."

Genma narrowed his eyes, worrying the senbon needle in his mouth. "Hayate? Do you think we can take all four of these guys? I mean, you're the one that said there are people nearby…"

"We should leave immediately." Hayate said. "They don't know about us yet, but I feel like they'll come dangerously close to us."

"Alright." Genma nodded. "Everybody, grab a dead guy and run!"

So they did, and it was fine for a while. But then Genma got  _that_  feeling, and by the looks of it the others had  _that_ feeling too.

"Guys," he muttered, his voice full of warning.

"Yes." Hayate replied calmly. "They are watching."

_An ambush? It could be a trap as well..._ "Aoba,"

"If anything happens," Aoba interrupted, "Would you please hold this corpse for me? I'd appreciate that."

"Definitely." Genma grinned.

They didn't have to wait long after that. Suddenly, a volley of knives shot out from the surrounding foliage. Whatever the knives hit appeared as though great balls of ice crashed into it, either freezing, destroying, or both.

"Shit!" Genma grit his teeth one as of the knives just missed his face.

"We'll split up here!" Hayate called out.

"Genma!" Aoba tossed the corpse he was carrying to him. "You guys go on!" He released his signature technique, a massive murder of crows forming a swirling cloud around his body, until suddenly, Aoba was gone. "I'll hold them off!"

They headed out at top speed. Aoba did manage to hold them off with his masterful illusion techniques. They slowed down, and nobody was coming after them.

Genma sighed. "I suppose… All we can do now is hope for the best, as far as Aoba is concerned…"

Hayate's mouth set in a grim line. He said nothing.

Dusk was setting in on the horizon. "I guess we need to go to the meeting point." Gai said.

"And wait? Yeah…" Genma agreed.

"We'll wait until morning."

There was a tiny, one room log cabin that the four of them had found in disuse. They had all agreed upon it as the meeting point should anything happen. It didn't take long to arrive, and they placed the bodies as neatly as they could on one side of the small room.

"Now," Gai said, spreading a world map out on a rickety, little wooden table. "If we do this normally it'll take over a week to get back to Chorió Fỳlla."

"So…" Genma looked at the other two. "Anyone up for doing this  _not_  normally?"

"We could probably get away with teleporting to the Gi Tou Pagetoú **[3]** port, but other than that…" Hayate coughed.

Gai frowned and nodded.

"Now, don't panic or anything, but, a small group of people are going to walk by." Hayate whispered.

Genma hunkered down underneath the dirty window. "How small do you mean by small?"

"About five people."

"That's bigger than us…" Genma grumbled.

"We can take them!" Gai whispered, shooting him a bright grin and a thumbs up.

"Shhh!" Hayate hushed.

They could all hear voices approaching them now. First they were quiet, and muffled, but each of them grew clearer as the people, perhaps unknowingly, edged closer.

"…but it's probably for the best that you guys joined us." One man said in Latin.

"Do you think that word will get out of the annexation?" Another male asked, more hesitantly.

"Oh, yeah, I mean, eventually!" The first man answered.

"But it's not like your king was unwilling or anything." A woman spoke up.  _Three people, two males and a female._ Genma counted.

"No!" the second male exclaimed. "And neither are the people of Terra Pruina  **[4]**."

"And now Terra Fluctus  **[5]**  and Rice Agro Regionem will be able to use our combined technology to—"

"Hey." Another female spoke up with a dreamy voice. "It's a pretty, white owl… It's kinda early for owls to be out…"

"Nah." A third man spoke up. Genma could hear the apathetic shrug in his voice. "It's dusk, so it's not too early."

"Huh." The first man spoke up. "You hardly ever see a snowy owl around here."

Their voices were becoming less clear now, and Gai breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Did you…" Genma gazed at the other two men with enormous eyes.

Hayate looked back at them with a grave face. "That was some major information we just heard on accident…" He stood then from his crouching position against the wall, and went back to the table to look at the map.

"As soon as the sun rises, we need to teleport straight to the village." Gai said, following Hayate's lead and going over to stand with him.

Hayate picked his head up sharply as though what Gai had said startled him. Then, coughing, he looked back down at the map. "He won't be coming back." He said quietly.

"How could you say that?!" Gai shouted angrily. "How could you have so little faith in our comrades? Are you really such a fatalist?"

"No." Hayate replied forcefully, shooting a passive glare at Gai. "There were eight of them back there. Eight, against one man."

"Shit." Genma's eyes closed, his head hitting back against the hard wall of the cabin. "We… should never have left him…"

"We at least should have gone back for him!" Gai said in frustration.

"It would've been no good." Hayate said softly. "We had to protect these bodies so that they could be returned to the village." He coughed. "Normally they could've just been destroyed by trackers, but we must make sure they get back so that autopsies are performed."

Gai nodded.

"It's… sometimes hard to tell whether or not you did the right thing." Genma muttered.

"Yes." Hayate agreed, sitting on the floor next to him. "But we'll find out when we get back, right?"

"So, we'll wait until morning… just in case." Genma affirmed.

"Yes." Gai nodded.

"Then," Hayate coughed. "we'll teleport straight to the village."

"Ugh." Genma groaned. "I can't believe I'm going to have to write a report on why I thought it was excusable to use a teleportation spell…"

"Hey," Gai shrugged. "We'll all have to do it." He smiled, attempting a jovial mood despite the circumstances. "We'll all be in the doghouse together, right?" He gave Genma another thumbs up, and Genma couldn't help but grin, just a bit.

But dawn came and went, and Aoba never came back.

"Genma," Hayate prompted.

"Yes I know… But I don't know how big I can make this. I've never had to teleport myself plus two others, and then four dead bodies."

"Is it possible to break it up?" Gai asked.

"Well… it is, but…" Genma's eyes lit up suddenly with an idea. "Okay. Here's what I'll do. I'm going to send one of you to Chorió Fỳlla, right behind the hospital. Then I'll send two corpses in two different teleportation spells. Now, which one of you wants to be the receiver of the corpses? Whoever it is, you may also have to explain to hospital staff why you're hanging out behind the hospital, and why there are dead bodies piling up next to you." Genma grinned as Hayate and Gai looked at each other.

"I volunteer Gai." Hayate said, jerking a thumb at Gai.

"What?" The man exclaimed, but collected himself quickly in awkward laughter. "You don't… I'm going to be alone, with the bodies! In the back of a building… And what if their spirits think we've been mistreating them? What if the nurses start yelling at me?"

Genma laughed, already finished with a simple one person teleportation drawing in the snow. He shoved Gai in the middle, and as he disappeared, Genma winked.

"You'll be fine. Just… don't turn your back on the bodies."

"Wait, what?!" Then Gai was gone, and it was just Hayate and Genma.

Genma sighed, his shoulders sagging heavily. "Well, guess I should get started on this two person teleportation thing." He kneeled down in the snow.

Hayate leaned back against a tree and coughed. "Did you know any of them?"

"What, these guys?" Genma glanced at them, then back to what he was doing. "Yeah." He answered softly. "I knew Iwashi, of course. Strong guy, real strong…" Genma stood up after a moment, rubbing his hands on his pants. Since it was snow, for the sake of expedience he was using blood to draw with. It did make things easier in the long run, but it was riskier, since the more blood the spell used, the stronger and blacker the spell was. "He was a friend of mine."

"Then you must be hurting doubly, hmm?"

Genma laughed bitterly. "There is no room for emotions on a mission. I'm fine."

"Nope. As soon as we get back, and all the pesky paperwork is taken care of," Hayate coughed. "we're going drinking."

Genma carefully dumped two bodies into the center of the teleportation circle and sent them off. He began a new circle. "What are you talking about? This was a very dangerous mission. I'm sure your Yugao will want to spend some  _quality_ time with you." He winked.

Hayate gave Genma one of his rarer, more impish grins. "Oh, I'll spend plenty of  _quality_ time with her. Going out drinking with my best friend won't take any time away at all."

Genma snickered. "Whatever, your call, man." He stood and went to get the other two bodies.

There was a stretch of quiet as Genma put the bodies into the circle. After they were sent away, Hayate stepped away from the tree, coughing softly.

"So… I always ask you this, mainly to bug you, I admit, but…" Hayate paused. He sat on his heels next to Genma, and wrapped his arms around his legs. "But… Seriously, isn't there anyone at all that you like?"

"Nope." Genma said firmly. "We've been over this."

"I find that hard to believe. You're a huge flirt."

"Flirting and dating are two very different things, Hayate."

Hayate nodded, and watched quietly as Genma finished drawing the designs in the teleportation circle.

He stood. "Alright," He said with finality. "It's finished. Let's go and meet Gai."

As he said that, Genma felt a tug at his gut, making him look back into Gi Tou Chionioú  **[6]**.  _Aoba…_

When he looked back, Hayate was looking at him with an expression almost like sympathy.

"He was my friend, too." He said softly.

Genma nodded. "I know."

"Our trackers will come to pick up his body. It's only a small comfort, but..."

"I know."

Genma stepped into the circle with Hayate. With his long distance teleportation incantation they were soon standing right next to a flustered Gai, a small pile of corpses, and two very bemused and rather suspicious looking nurses.

"Hello, ladies!" Genma smiled at them, turning on the charm immediately. "See, we were actually on our way to the Hokage building, and we were wondering if it was possible for these bodies to be taken in for an autopsy report. We have a really urgent message to relay, so we shouldn't linger around here for too long."

One of the nurses rolled her eyes. "Understood. I'll be right back. But while I'm gone Mai will be here to make sure none of you go anywhere."

"Yes, ma'am." Genma smiled again.

When that woman walked inside the hospital, Gai muttered, "Really, how do you not have a girlfriend?"

"Are we  _really_  doing this right now?" Genma shot him a glare.

"Oh, that's why."

Hayate coughed. "Yeah, he can say whatever he wants and girls will fall at his feet, but in reality he's an asshole."

Genma turned to look at Hayate with a bit of surprise. "What the hell, Hayate!"

Hayate offered only a small smile in answer, but already the nurse was coming back out with doctors in tow. There were a few other people as well, loading the corpses onto stretchers.

The two doctors came up to the trio. "All we need to have confirmed at the moment is that these men died on a mission. Is this correct?"

"Yes." Genma said.

"They were in Gi Tou Chinioú when they were killed, sir." Gai elaborated.

"Alright."

"And I assume the rest will be in the reports?" The other doctor – the coroner – assumed.

"Yes."

"Good, good. You may go."

The three of them walked away, choosing to take the back alleys instead of the main street. It was always awkward when teleportation was necessary. Everyone would see them, realize they should have been gone a lot longer, and then realize what they did to expedite the mission. They used black magic. It really shouldn't be a problem, but black magic in  _any_  form was something that was very much frowned upon in Gi Tou Pyros **[7]**. In many cases, one could even say that it was something that was persecuted, although that was perhaps a strong word. So that always made it really awkward.

It was a longer way, but they made it there in enough time. The sun was sitting high in the sky, now, and Genma figured that the trio sitting in for the Hokage would be lounging in the office and avoiding paper work right about now.

When they walked in and he found that he was correct in his assumption, he wasn't surprised at all.

"Slacking off?" Genma asked, only teasing a bit. He meant to get right down to business.

Shikaku, who had been snoozing with his feet on the desk, started awake. "Back already?"

Hayate nodded. "We will write up the reports promptly, but we have a very urgent message to relay."

Chouza and Inoichi were looking at them intently, and Genma knew why. "First," he cleared his throat. "We were attacked, and we lost Aoba."

For a moment, nobody said anything. Shikaku just looked at Genma, as did Chouza and Inoichi.

"I will take responsibility." Hayate spoke up. "I knew how many there were, but I said nothing."

"Did you think you would be able to escape?" Chouza inquired quietly.

Hayate coughed. "Yes, I thought we would be able to outmaneuver them since we knew about their ambush. But I was wrong. We couldn't move swiftly while carrying – "

"You don't know the entire story, yet." Gai interrupted. "This is no one's fault, as tragic as it is, and no one needs to take responsibility. In this situation, there had to be someone to take the fall, and it just happened that Aoba was the one best suited to do so. He himself recognized that."

"Alright…" Inoichi spoke for the first time since they entered. He sighed deeply, and rubbed his temples as though fighting off a headache. "Tell us briefly what happened."

Chouza stood and tied a message to a hawk and sent it off. It was probably messaging the trackers to send a unit out to Gi Tou Chinioú.

Hayate coughed. "We went to pick up the bodies, each of us carrying one. We dropped them off at the hospital and the doctors are currently awaiting orders to begin an autopsy. The reason that we could not simply leave the bodies was because there were no visible wounds on them. There was no blood, but there was a very faint smell lingering on them that I had never encountered before. So we carried them off, and then fell into an ambush wherein eight people were waiting for us. This is where Aoba stayed behind to make use of his advanced illusionary techniques to make sure we escaped." He paused, coughing a bit.

Gai picked up for him. "We kept going, and went to a place near the border we'd agreed to meet at, should anything happen. We decided initially to use teleportation to get to the coast of Nỳchi Chóra **[8]** , sort of backwards from what we did in order to get to Gi Tou Chinioú. But then some people passed by. We're still not sure who they were, but the things they said were very concerning."

"They said that Gi Tou Pagetoúhad been annexed by Gi Tou Chinioú." Genma added. "They also mentioned something about working together with Edáfu Tis Oryzónes Ta Kỳmata **[9]**. Using their combined technology to do something or other."

"This is worse than I thought." Inoichi murmured.

"They attacked you, knowing that you were from Gi Tou Pyros?" Shikaku made it more of a statement than a question.

Inoinchi added, "Are you aware if this was a trap that you triggered, or if they were truly lying in wait to attack you?"

"Either way," Shikaku said sharply. "They were attacked, and the perpetrators of the attack were perfectly aware of our men's nationality due to their attire. They did not stop the attack, and as far as we know, one of them is dead or missing." Shikaku fisted his hands on the desk, glaring. They nodded in response, and Shikaku sighed, shoving his face in his hands. "I… We'll tell Tsunade, but, I would assume it's only a matter of time before we receive a declaration of war."

"Most likely sooner then we care to think." Chouza intoned grimly.

Shikaku continued with ominous diffidence. "In a normal situation we should continue holding out the olive branch until it's too late. When that would be is different in every circumstance… But this time, the dissent in Gi tou Anémou and other activity in the south could be directly related to the growing hostility in the north… If this intelligence you collected is confirmed then we're going to have a bigger mess on our hands than one measly war declaration."

For a moment the entire room was silent, the air heavy with the solemn knowledge it now held. "You are all excused. Please turn in your reports, and also the papers documenting and explaining your use of space/time black magic by no later than twenty-two hundred hours tonight." Chouza said.

"You are forbidden to speak of this mission to anyone, do you understand?" Inoichi gave them each a hard glare.

"Yes, sir." The trio answered.

Genma rubbed his neck anxiously. So, it was as big of a deal as he feared.  _Shit, this sucks._  He thought about going to the bar, even though it was still early afternoon, but thought better of it. He had to go home quickly and fill out paperwork. The thought of it filled him with dread.  _Paperwork._  But something like this had to be done quickly. If there really was a war declaration on the way… Well, he just wouldn't think of that for the moment.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

"Everyone, get up!"

"Huh? Wha-?" Naruto floundered into a sitting position.

Koray stood at the opening of his and Lee's makeshift room. "The axe woman waits."

"Huh?" Naruto rubbed his eyes, willing his body to wake up.

"What time is it?" Lee asked dazedly.

"Early." Kory replied flatly. "We will bring food for you to eat."

Naruto got up, stretched and yawned, peeking over his shoulder at Koray. The man was leaning against the rock wall, arms crossed, giving him an even hungrier look than usual. Everyone here seemed to have a starving look to them, whether they appeared wanting for food or something else. The blonde assumed that, since they seemed to have enough food (if only  _just_ enough) it may have been something else they were lacking. He didn't want to think it, but he was afraid that most of the lacked hope. He really wanted to think that this wasn't what Koray was missing. As their leader, he of all people needed hope.

Somehow, Naruto had a feeling that Koray was bloodthirsty. He repressed a slight shudder.

Naruto took off his shirt. Gods, he must smell awful. He tried to clean his upper body the best he could with the small amount of water he was given. Shirt on again, and face washed, he turned to Lee, who'd also refreshed himself, and smiled.

"Ready?"

"Yes!" Lee shouted, pumping a fist into the air. Naruto laughed.

They were just on their way out when Lee stopped. "Wait, is the puppet coming?"

The puppet was already making to follow, however, and Naruto said, "Well, I guess that answers that."

"This puppet…" Koray began, bemusement seeping through his emotionless mask. "You will explain? It is… strange. How do you say… Very, uh, very creepy." His attractive visage construed itself in distaste.

Naruto and Lee shared a look, and then broke out into laughter.

"We'll tell you everything you need to know." Naruto put a hand on Koray's shoulder. "Now, let's go!"

The cavern was very dimly lit.  _It must really be early for there to be so few torches lit,_ Naruto thought.

"We are meeting in my father's room." Koray informed them.

Just thinking about the Menkure clan made Naruto's blood boil under his skin. But then he stopped to think about that. He had been getting progressively angrier lately, and he had no idea why. There was no explanation. He shrugged inwardly, telling himself that it was best not to dwell on it. Probably just sexual frustration, or something stupid like that. Probably.

Anko and Sakura were waiting in Chief Najat's room. The pinkette was staring off into space, drumming her fingers on the table; Anko absently worried her lip, twirling her hair between her fingers as she leaned back in her chair.

"Alright." Koray declared authoritatively. "We'll eat first, then we will begin."

It was just a moment later that their so called food arrived. It was mainly rice gruel, meagerly (and rather badly) flavored with goat's milk. Everyone also received instant coffee and one thin slice of melon.

"Our rations may seem meager," Koray said, gesturing to the meal, "but we eat well for now."

Anko nodded. "Mhmm. Seems like you do a good job with what you have."

Koray nodded, swallowing some of the gruel. "Now this… puppet…" he eyed it suspiciously.

Naruto laughed again, but Sakura's mouth was full so she sat there awkwardly, covering her mouth and issuing half grunt-half snort noises. Finally she managed to swallow and started choking, to which Anko responded by giving her a hearty slap on the back.

"He's got a name." Anko answered. "It's Askari. See, what it is, is he's controlled by the Kazekage's older brother, Kankuro. Kankuro, using some seriously advanced puppeteer skills, controls him long distance, and he can kind of see through Askari's eyes with his techniques and stuff. But sometimes, Kankuro will have to leave what he's doing in order to eat, or sleep, or whatever else he needs to do. He has to keep up his strength in order to keep the spell up. For this reason Askari was created as a sentient being, at least while he's not being puppeteered by Kankuro. Does that make sense? I probably could have explained that better, I apologize."

Koray's eyes widened with shock at the mention of Kanuro's name, the only real expression he'd shown during the course of the conversation. "Oh." He said intelligently. He sat there quietly for half a moment as the information seeped into his mind. When he spoke, his voice was rather quiet, almost seeming reluctant about something. "So… They're really helping you, then?" He asked. "The Kazekage's family, I mean."

Anko nodded.

Koray shifted around in his chair, a thinly concealed expression of discomfort crossing his visage. Anko leaned forward, opening her mouth to speak, when four men suddenly walked into the room.

"Ah, yes!" Koray stood abruptly. "These men will be in our meeting here." He nodded at them. "They speak Latin well enough, so just talk normal. Now, take your seats, men."

Each of the men bowed to Anko and Sakura before taking their seats around the table. Naruto heard a quiet huff of bewilderment from Sakura.

Koray sat, continuing to speak. "Now, you would not be aware of this on coming to Void Village, however many of us men, and even some of the women are a part of the Ahmose family."  
Anko's eyes widened, and Naruto tensed up as his gaze warily fell on Koray. "First, you must know that my sick father does not wish to know about these things unless it directly concerns him or the village. Most of the villagers are, ah, how do you say…  _civilians,_  like my father. He wanted nothing to do with the life of crime that the Ahmose Family offered, so he chose not to be involved. My father's elder brother is leader of the clan. We are not only resistance here to Menkure Family, but we are Ahmose in this village. The Menkure think they have taken us but they are wrong. The family would never be taken by those bastards." Koray shared a meaningful look with the men who'd just sat down, then commanded them, "Introduce yourselves."

The first one to speak was a well-built, sun-bronzed man with wavy golden brown hair that he'd pulled back into a pony tail. He cleared his throat. "I am Nadim." He stated in a deep, gravelly voice. His moss green eyes roved over everyone in the room to ensure he had their attention. "I am in charge of the Ahmose Family's defense in Void Town."

"Ah, well, I should introduce myself next, then." The man sitting next to Nadim said. He had a lean, svelte body, his dark olive skin enhancing the taut muscles beneath. Under a fringe of long, silky black hair, were two bright orbs of blue, and when they met Naruto's own, the blond felt as though the man were prying open his soul. "I am Altair. I'm in charge of intelligence here. Nadim and I often work in tandem due to our respective operations."

"Wow!" Lee exclaimed, grinning at him. "Your Latin is excellent!"

Altair threw him an easy smile. "It should be good, considering how often I travel. But thank you."

"My name is Farag." A bespectacled man stated curtly (and perhaps a bit suddenly in Naruto's opinion), crossing his arms over his chest. He sighed, raising one moody eyebrow. He was a much paler olive tone than Altair. Everything was paler. His hair was a light brown, and although it was long it and appeared clean and brushed out, it still somehow looked quite unruly. His eyes were a cold, calculating steel blue. "I am a scholar, a man of learning." He said rather importantly. "But, I suppose for our purposes today, it's enough for you to know that I am the lead practitioner of medicine here in Void Town." He sighed once more, a bit more dramatically this time. "A waste of my talents, if you ask me."

Naruto caught Anko placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder in his peripheral vision. There was a quick warning glance there as well, so Sakura merely scoffed, and thankfully didn't say or do whatever it was she may have been thinking. She probably wanted to defend medicine as a noble practice, which, Naruto thought, was all well and good. But the point here was that this was almost a negotiation of sorts. This was not just a mission anymore. This was Gi Tou Pyros willingly helping Gi Tou Anémou  **[10]** , with a sort of mutual trust or something of the sort between them. Naruto was working harder on understanding these sorts of things. He kind of didn't want to think that his father would think he was an idiot for not knowing how certain actions could lead to tensions or whatever between countries.

But he was getting distracted thinking about all this, and really now, he had to pay attention, didn't he?

"I am Jafar." An elderly man with dark mocha skin said. Wrinkles cut through his face like traces of fireworks in the night sky, and both hair and beard fell in long, silvery waterfalls. "I keep general supply as they come to village. I track all supplies and I watch secret business. All supplies, everywhere. Medical, raw material, food. Everything."

His Latin was worse than Koray's (whose Latin really wasn't that bad at all) but it was still understandable.

"Well," Anko began, starting the introduction on their part. "I am Anko Mitarashi."

"I'm Sakura Haruno."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"And I am Rock Lee, the handsome devil of Chório Fỳlla!"

Naruto snorted at that.

"That puppet there is called Askari." Sakura said. "We just explained its function to Koray, but basically even though it usually won't say anything back, we just have to talk to it as though it's actually taking part in the conversation."

Farag raised an eyebrow at her.  _He's one of those people that likes to do the eyebrow thing, isn't he?_ "The girl with pink hair," He began, speaking specifically to Koray.

"Sakura." Lee supplied helpfully.

"Shut up, boy." Farag growled. "Why does  _Sakura_ ," he sneered as he said her name, "speak up as if she has the right? And the axe woman, too, for that matter?"

"Now, now." Altair waved his hand airily. "You know, for such a 'learned man', you sure are closed minded." He snickered at his own comment, and probably also at the way it twisted Farag's face in irritation. "You are aware that not all cultures are like ours? In  _their_  culture, they treat women as equals. Honestly, they might be better for it."

The other men of Void Village who were present scoffed loudly at that, but Altair's piercing eyes remained on Farag. Neither backed down, and when the room finally fell silent, it felt as though a storm was brewing.

Koray let his hand come down hard on the table, loudly clearing his throat. "This is certainly not what we are here for. Altair is right, their culture differs from ours. As long as they respect us, we respect them. Is this clear?" When his fierce gaze was met with silence, he continued. "Anko, we discussed a plan of attack last night?"

Anko blinked, clearing her throat. "Oh, yeah, we did discuss a tentative plan."

"She mentioned that she and the three of these," Koray gestured at Naruto, Sakura and Lee. "would be helping with overthrow of the Menkure Family here at home. But they leave tomorrow. Three others will come replace them, one of us must talk to the new ones on the… ah, situation? Is that the right word here? And also plan of attack. I will need one of  _you_  to volunteer, after we discuss the plan." More than one groan went around the table at that, but it was silenced when Koray held up a hand. "Here's what we were thinking. Please, Anko, if you have anything to add, do not hesitate to speak up." He looked at Nadim. "Do you have the maps?"

The man nodded, taking two large papers and spreading them out on the table.

"Now we are here." Koray pointed to within a mountain, quite nearby Void Town. Somehow Naruto wasn't surprised to see that the caverns in here also ran underneath the town. "Now, the exits we will be using for this are here." He pointed to a rather unsafe looking exit in Naruto's opinion. It was the mouth of a cave, which overlooked a very narrow, rocky path. Then it suddenly dropped down into a sort of gully. It was a pretty far drop, too. The path itself turned a corner and then suddenly looked straight down upon Void Town. "And also here." The place he pointed to now was actually inside a house. "It is a tunnel that comes out into a fire place."

"But the guards know about that place! They know about every entrance within town!" Altair burst out incredulously.

"But no exits are guarded anymore." Nadim interjected. "Well, I guess some are. But this was—rarely—used to start with." He stumbled over "rarely," but continued right on. "So what we do is, send warriors before dawn, here." He tapped the map thoughtfully with two fingers "We send them in, when guard is changing. They wait there, as few others come, and –"

"Wait," Altair whispered suddenly, his cerulean eyes wide and lit up with some sort of epiphany. "Keep them in the house. Only four can come out, and myself. Those four must then be from my jurisdiction."

Koray laced his fingers together on the table. "Explain?"

Altair's eyes shot up to meet his, fire meeting ice. A smirk crept onto his face. "We are going to kill the king, so to speak."

"You're saying you're going to kill –" Farag muttered, but no one but those nearby heard him, since Altair spoke over him.

"Well if we're going through with this, I don't see why we shouldn't give it a shot."

Koray nodded. "Alright. We can hope that when his death is discovered, the Menkure moral here will decrease greatly."

"Who exactly are we assassinating?" Naruto  _had_  to ask. He couldn't stand not knowing, his curiosity always got the better of him.

"His name is Hamza. He is the leader of the Menkure family, at least in this town. He goes down, the rest here go down." Koray explained.

"Ah, but it couldn't be that simple." Farag decided.

"No, it probably isn't." Altair agreed. "There is most probably a second-in-command."

"No matter. Moral  _will_  decrease if we take out the top." Koray stated, almost like he was trying to drill the point in.

"What will be the signal?" Nadim asked Altair.

"Hmm, we'll find a light blue fabric of some sort and hang it over the balcony."

Nadim smiled and nodded. "Good. So then we in village fire place, quietly leave the house, and crawl quietly on top of roofs, so no one notice, yes?"

"You're not planning on signaling the others, are you?" Altair asked incredulously. "No, no, no, that will never work! Besides, Hamza's house will be quite visible to a look out on the mountain exit. So when they see the signal, it will begin." He grinned.

"Those on the inside," Nadim continued, "quickly and quietly kill the guards. They will catch on soon. But warriors inside will break in by then. Axe woman,"

"Anko," Naruto corrected.

"An-ko," Nadim pointed at her. "Where will your people be, when we attack?"

"Lee, Naruto and Sakura will be coming in from the outside, and I will come from the inside."

Nadim glanced at Koray who nodded. "So be it." He said. "From there on it will be an all out battle. When the three replacements arrive they will no doubt find the three of you." Koray nodded at Naruto, Lee and Sakura.

"Yes," Anko agreed. "None of you have to worry; I will be sure to contact all of them myself through the battle to ensure that they are aware of what is going on. I can take that much upon myself."

Koray nodded again. "Acceptable. Jafar, are you ready?" Naruto's eyes widened a bit in surprise. The old man had been sitting there the whole time, taking notes on what supplies they'd need for different aspects of before and after the battle.

"Wow." He mouthed at Lee.

"You are all dismissed, and Mission Ebru commences tomorrow."

"Mission Ebru?" Naruto asked.  _The name of that little girl…_

Koray gave Naruto a small smile before quickly leaving the room.

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

The sound of water splashing the shore was far, far away. The blood in his ears roared, and he felt power. Power, surging through his body. No, He had to remind himself that he had no body. This was simply an illusion, a trick his mind was playing on him. It felt like a body, it looked like a body, but it was no body. It was  _spirit_.

Waves of rage and hatred rolled across the once white clouds in fluffy crimson waves. Heavy miasma hung in the once pure air, travelling in slow, ominously circling currents. Puddles of black sludge bubbled and boiled in places that liquid should not have existed—liquid does not exist simultaneously in the form of gaseous clouds and atmosphere, after all. The fox breathed deeply. Yes, this was it. All of his meditation would pay off, and this would work.

But not without a cost. That was fine, though, because as far as the fox was concerned, any "cost" that didn't hurt him was no skin off his back. Besides, it wasn't like it would kill Naruto or anything. Damage him? Yes. Irreparably damage or mortally wound him? No. The brat owed him a thank you for all of that care taken.

Kurama really did care about the boy… Even though Naruto was only a fragile human, he did care. But self-preservation was of course, very high up on the fox's list of priorities. It was higher than Naruto. He was, after all, a demon. He would  _never_  sacrifice himself for the sake of another.

Soon. Very soon. He just had to wait a bit longer, and it would all pay off…

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

Naruto, Lee, Sakura, and a whole host of others were lying in wait at the entrance of the cave. Koray was outside, laying out on the edge of a narrow pathway, to see if he could spot the cloth that Altair would hang once Hamza was dead. He was implementing the use of binoculars, a rare item even in Gi Tou Pyros. If something were to go awry, they needed to know immediately.

Dawn was just breaking. The sky was glowing blood red, and the sun was nearly peeking over the horizon. Naruto trembled with anticipation. He felt an unexplainable hatred and animosity toward the Menkure Family that, somewhere in the back of his mind, shocked even him. The way that the clan had enslaved the people of this town enraged him. The very name "Menkure" made his blood boil. He shifted from one foot to another restlessly, feeling almost like a caged animal. Lee glanced over at him.

"Naruto, calm down." He hissed. "We can go all out once we get into the village, but before that we must be calm and try to be quiet. As of right now, anything could still—"

Naruto released a growl of irritation and frustration, causing Lee to take a step back from him in surprise. "Uh—sorry, sorry." Naruto waved his hand dismissively, shaking his head. "I'm just… I'm not sure. I guess I just haven't been feeling like myself lately."

Lee nodded. "This sort of thing… Doing this sort of thing wasn't in the mission description. We're basically being pulled into a gang war. It wasn't unexpected, but…"

Naruto nodded. That wasn't it really, but he wouldn't broach the subject of feelings and all of that with Lee unless it became an issue. Of course, Lee was right, though. He had to try to calm down, and focus on the here and now. Wait for orders. What was even wrong with him? A little excitement or anticipation or even anxiety was normal for him before something like this… But this sheer animosity and blood lust he was feeling gave him… a vague feeling of discomfort. This wasn't normal.

Suddenly there he was. Koray stood in the entrance of the cave, his face the usual picture of surface stoicism. He boomed something out confidently in Anapnoi, then turned to Naruto, Sakura and Lee. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Take heart! Hamza is dead!"

"Yahoo!" Lee whooped, but Sakura frantically clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Not so loud, it echoes in here!"

"Oh, right!" Lee's voice dropped to a loud and enthusiastic whisper. "Woo hoo!" He whisper-shouted with a fist pump.

Naruto laughed. "Whelp." He said, looking at Koray. "Are we leaving?"

"Yes. But we must be quiet, stealth like about it. With luck, the men guarding the outside of the village do not know what goes on inside, since they should not have caused much commotion yet. So we will take the outer guards down, then make our way inside."

He gave a command in Anapnoi to his other men that Naruto could only assume meant "get ready" or something like that. He threw a questioning glance toward Lee, but the green clad man shrugged. Apparently as Koray motioned for them to move out, it had been something along the lines of what Naruto was thinking.

Moving two abreast, they carefully walked out onto the mountain pathway, around the north side of the village. Here, they descended down the rocky slope, each of them separated by approximately three meters. It was a tough job, made tougher by having to navigate the unstable terrain, but also having to make no sudden movements. Most of the unit went inside through the main entrance of the village. But there were two smaller groups that spit off, meaning to take out the rest of the guard post outside the village.

_Our backup may just arrive after this entire thing!_ Naruto thought smugly.

As they quietly poured into the village, a bell began to toll. Instinctively Naruto knew that it was an alarm. A man was shouting from an unseen tower but the blond couldn't understand a word.

"Stay your hands! Spread out!" Koray called to them in Latin, just as he commanded his own people in Anapnoi in the very same breath. "Dayyan, the second in command, is rallying the Menkure family!"

"They recovered from the assassination like it was nothing!" Lee gasped.

"Maybe it  _was_  sort of nothing." Sakura murmured grimly, wandering with the others through streets that had not yet found the sun's gaze.

Suddenly Sakura was gone. Everyone was slowly disappearing into the shadows of the back alleys.

"What do you think she meant?" Lee murmured.

The blond shrugged. "Well, I mean, this is just a little village, ya know? These guys probably aren't of that high a level." Naruto reasoned. He wasn't sure either, but he figured this seemed logical enough.

He nodded. "I see…"

Suddenly a large man brandishing a club jumped out in front of them with a loud snarl—

—And just as suddenly flew off to the side and out of sight. Blood splattered Naruto's face and hair, and the bright sunlight reflecting off of metal shown in Lee's and his own eyes. Naruto winced, and his expression didn't get any happier when he saw that it was Anko.

"Ugh." He wiped what he could of the blood out of his eyes.

"You guys won't be seeing much of the fighting from what I hear." Anko said with a grin.

"Huh?" Both Naruto's and Lee's jaws dropped, the disappointment on their faces evident.

Nearby they heard a woman scream, and their conversation was cut short as a volley of rocks sent them running. They came back together, this time with Sakura, who looked a bit sheepish.

"Sorry about that," she said.

"It's fine." Anko replied, propping her ax across her shoulder. "The meeting spot is in the cave entrance. I won't be joining you guys, but Lee knows where to go. He's smart. Trust him, he'll get you guys there."

"Wait, what?" Naruto started. Apparently this was new to Sakura as well.

But there was no time for shock or surprise. More enemies were upon them before Naruto could even draw one of his swords. With a whirlwind of punches and kicks, he and Lee were back to back in the midst of the fray. Then it was still in their small pocket of the battle, and it was the sudden calm, the unexpected yet inevitable eye of the storm. Naruto was breathing hard, sweat mingling with the blood rolling down his cheeks. He could feel Lee panting as well.

_Here they come again._

This time Naruto drew the swords at his hips. He sliced open one man's chest and blocked an attack aimed at Lee in one smooth motion.

"Thanks!" Lee shot him a bright smile and a thumbs up.

"No problem!" Naruto called back breathlessly.

Another man, one that hadn't been attacked by either himself or Lee, was not moving. Yet he was standing. Odd, perhaps Sakura was nearby, using some of her bizarre mind games or something… But he didn't give much thought to it. Or rather he couldn't, since he was still being rushed from all sides.

"There he is!" Someone shouted.

"There's Dayyan!"

And there he was indeed, charging up through the middle of the main street on an ebony war horse. He held his sword high in the air, the universal signal for attack, the "charge" command, keep fighting,  _win_.

But something heavy looking—maybe metallic?—was slung across his back… Naruto couldn't  _quite_ make it out…

The attacks came now with renewed vigor.  _This is just a village, how can there be so many of them?_

"Look!" It was Sakura.

The man who'd been standing stock still just a bit earlier was dead. Another man, whom Naruto had literally  _just_ raised his sword to, was  _winking_ at him.

Honest to god  _winking_ at him.

"Naruto, you guys can go." The man said confidently. Or rather,  _Ino_  said confidently. "We'll take it from here."

Naruto grinned. "Got it!"

But making his way out of the rabble and trying to avoid more attention than necessary was apparently impossible for Naruto.

"Oi! You're the brat that took my money just now!"

And so he ran faster. But just when he thought he was lying low again—

"He's the one that just gutted my sister!"

Naruto actually replied to this man before running away. "Huh?" He just had to give him one incredulous look before beating it.

"I'm not even from around here! I don't know you people…" He whined, mostly to himself.

"Naruto!" The blond skidded to a halt, shocked to find Koray calling out to him.

The man jumped with cat like grace from a balcony and strolled over to him casually, as though there was absolutely no fighting going on at all.

"You travel to Arena Vicus, yes?"

Naruto nodded.

"Please. Send word of our victory here to my uncle, Kareem. Perhaps it is early, but... I am confident this will be a victory for. If it is you, you will meet Kareem, and he will end up liking you whether he wants to or not. You have…" he waved his hands around a bit, searching for the words. "balls." He said finally. "If you happen to meet Ashura or Halil as well, please send them my regards. They were good friends of mine when I was a child."

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Sure thing!"

"Also… I will attempt to keep in mind… not taking women as lightly. We will not be able to give them more privileges because our village would get into an uproar. Indeed, some of the women may even be against this, as it is against their customs... It is too different." Naruto's mouth dropped open in shock. "But everybody is equal in the eyes of Rahun the Allfather, so perhaps we should consider  _eventually_  casting off these old ways of ours. Perhaps we could learn more about what women are capable of from cultures like yours."

Naruto laughed. "I'm surprised you'd even consider it, seeing how strongly against it you were before! And you didn't even take much convincing! I mean, you can start small, that's good! It's still a start!" Naruto shook his head in disbelief, still grinning widely, "I just can't believe that you're consid—"

Suddenly, a noise louder than anything Naruto ever remembered hearing before in his life ripped across the town-turned-battlefield. Both he and Koray dived into the dirt.

The world was upside down and in slow-motion. His hands clapped over his ringing ears a bit too late, and Naruto screamed, "What the hell was that?"

"A weapon from the Old Age." Koray yelled back. "The Menkure Family has been gathering them. As far as I know, this village only has twelve – of different types, of course."

"Wow, okay, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Koray crawled over with his forearms as another nearby explosion sent rock and debris spraying around them. He grabbed Naruto's hand, Koray's tumultuous eyes boring into Naruto's.

"You are the light in a world of darkness." Koray yelled. "You  _will_  save us all. There is an ancient prophecy we all grew up hearing, and it sounds crazy but I think it is about you! People will love you, they will be drawn to you! You have the power to  _change_ people!"

Something heavy like lead dropped into Naruto's stomach, but the feeling left as quickly as it had come, leaving him feeling lighter than a feather. The result was that this all felt oddly surreal, like a dream. At the same time he felt his stomach twist in discomfort and he wanted to rip himself away from this man. He felt like he was going to throw up.

"Okay…" Naruto gulped, but then put on a smile. He was so confused by what Koray had just said to him, but maybe he'd figure it out later. Was he trying to compare someone to Naruto, or…? "I won't let you down! Believe it!" He'd figure it out in good time… Even if he wanted to know  _right now_ what Koray meant.

But the situation wasn't exactly ideal for a long heart-to-heart conversation.

Koray smiled at Naruto as though all the fears he'd ever had were comforted by some blond teenager on a battlefield. The dust was finally beginning to settle, and Koray and Naruto stood.

"Go." He said. "Meet your comrades. I will watch your back."

Naruto turned and he was running once more. He resisted the urge to look back. Those things they had, those big, metal things… He wasn't as scared as he was confused. Magic could do just as much destruction as whatever those things were, and honestly he could think of a hundred other ways to commit mass homicide. So it wasn't that he was shocked by the power, or scared… No… But confused, yes. Very confused. This was like magic, but he'd always thought that Man before The End wasn't capable of utilizing magic. Maybe Sakura or Lee would know. Yes, one of those two would definitely know.

It was hard but he climbed his way back up to the cave. They were both already there of course, waiting for him.

"Naruto?" Sakura intoned softly, as though he were a frightened animal. He looked at her. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." What Koray said really was bothering him. But they had other things to think about, and he didn't want to burden Sakura with his problems right now. He felt so sluggish, and not just weary, but like two lead balls were now chained to both of his ankles. He'd probably talk to Kurama later, if he could find him in his sleep… It'd been hard to do that for the past couple nights, for some reason.

"Alright." She offered him an uneasy smile, which he returned in kind.

"They had guns and…" Lee murmured, not quite finishing his sentence before he paused, asking, almost just to himself, "Why would people like that have firearms? Heavy firearms at that? How could they even…?"

"What?" Sakura asked him, apparently confused.

Lee sighed heavily, his usual joviality absent from his visage. "Let's be on our way. We'll talk about it as we go."

Sakura and Naruto gave curt nods, and they followed Lee as he began the trek into the sun.

"We're low on supplies, so we're heading to Paradise City next for just a quick stop. That's actually southeast, but we need to safely get around Void Town to get there."

"Paradise City?" Naruto asked. "Sounds nice."

Sakura smirked. "I'd like to make more than just a quick stop."

Lee released a put upon sigh. "Guys… Remember our mission…"

* * *

.x.x.x.x.

* * *

The rumbling and bustling crowd of the city built a wall of sound around the four as they moved through the streets.

"Clearly, they are not here!" Barracuda was saying with impatient exasperation. He kicked sand up into the air and groaned loudly. "I wasn't fucking built for a place like this, man!"

"Do you need more water?" Sasuke—or rather, Hawk, as these people called him—asked him tonelessly.

"Nah, I'm fine," Barracuda grumbled, his silvery-white hair looking strangely dull in the sunlight. "But I will in a few hours, though!" He added with a slight pout.

He would need it. He always took on this dull, drying look when he was beginning to require hydration. "Okay," Sasuke acceded. "We'll check into a hotel at that time."

" _Oh_ , no!" Karin rounded on Barracuda, although Sasuke knew that it was actually himself that she was giving her current sass to. She probably just hoped it went vicariously through Barracuda to him. "The last time you got dry we went to the shittiest inn ever! No. We're staying at a nice place this time!"

Sasuke cleared his throat, looking Karin dead in the eye. "I am in possession of the money we are collectively spending during the duration of this assignment. Do you intend to come and take it from me, woman?"

Almost imperceptibly, Karin's eyes widened. "No, I would never!"

Barracuda sighed, shaking his head. "Ya know, she's like, swooning over there. Fuckin' masochist." He said the last part under his breath, probably so that she wouldn't hear.

"Um…" Beast spoke up, his voice light but cracking slightly from disuse.

Sasuke's eyes flickered to him for a moment, the only indication that the man was listening.

Barracuda, however, came to walk next to him. He gave Beast's robe a tug, peering curiously up into his face. "Yeah?" he said, looking at him encouragingly. "What is it, big guy?"

"Um, it would be nice if perhaps, we could stay in a slightly more decent hotel than last time… Really, I'll be fine with anywhere that has clean bedding and running water, perhaps electricity… If it doesn't put a strain on our budget, of course…"

"Mhmm." Sasuke nodded. "A nicer hotel it is." He murmured.

" _Shit!"_ Barracuda screeched suddenly, shooting backward and retreating into an alleyway.

The other three stopped, confused, and Sasuke poked his head into the alley where the pale man had scurried off.

His own blank stare soon found a confused and frightened pair of violet eyes. He cocked an eyebrow. "Care to share?"

"I—uh—" Barracuda stammered, his eyes flickering back and forth, as though searching the mouth of the alleyway for something other than the three people standing there.

Sasuke slowly moved closer.  _Great. What the hell is wrong with this guy? I bet he's going to have a panic attack or something, and I'll be expected to deal with it. Then Karin will either get pissed or start freaking out as well... Okay, so think Sasuke… Oh Gods. What am I doing, I can't comfort people. But I can't kill him either. You don't do that to people you're supposed to work with, why would that even enter your fucked up mind,_ damn it _, Sasuke, that's not what an Uchiha—_

Suddenly Beast was next to him and he hadn't even noticed. "Come this way." He said, holding a hand out to Barracuda. He was crouched down with his arms around his legs, staring at the entrance of the alleyway. "There are bad men over there. A rat was able to tell me before it ran off," Beast said in his naturally soft, calm voice. "but we can avoid them by going this way instead."

Barracuda reached up a thin, pale hand and placed it carefully in Beast's, his eyes never leaving the point they'd fixed upon, at the edge of the alley. He stood up on shaking legs, his face looking even more drawn and pale than it had just minutes ago.  _We should get him some water._

Sasuke and Karin followed them, both sharing a similarly bemused expression. They soon came out onto the main road again.

"Now, about that inn," Sasuke muttered, half to himself, as his eyes began roving around the area.

"Actually, you guys go ahead." Karin suggested with a grin. "I'm going to go do a bit of sightseeing. Don't worry, I'll find you, no trouble!"

"I trust you have at least some skills in tracking?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

"Of course I do! Come on, you can trust me!" Karin winked. "I may have made a blunder like telling you guys my real name, but I still have some tricks up my sleeve!"

Sasuke shrugged, turning around.  _If you say so…_

A few hours later, they had gotten completely settled with two rooms in one of the nicer inns. There was a big room that came with a very, very large bed, and many comfortable amenities. Then there was also a smaller, attached bedroom where Karin would sleep. The best part was that it wasn't even close to being outside the budget.

Sasuke sat on the bed polishing his swords, while Beast sat out on the balcony feeding some birds. Barracuda had not quite recovered from whatever shock he'd received earlier, and was sitting, still and silent, on the bed next to Sasuke.

There was nothing to do but go and look around the city, and none of them wanted to do that after what had just transpired.

The door was thrown wide open, causing Beast to jump a little. "Guys, guys!" Karin yelled as she burst into the room. "I found out why Barracuda freaked out back there!"

"Okay… Does it matter?" Sasuke asked, looking up from his sword with a bored expression.

"Well, I don't know that it pertains to the assignment we're working on or anything…" Karin admitted. "But, it may become pertinent information in the future, and it might be good that you know this! It's a pretty big deal!"

"Alright." Sasuke put his sword down and leaned back against the headboard. "Talk."

"Well, these people are from the Aquis Patriae  **[11]**. These guys here that I saw just look like a bunch of thugs, but apparently they're on a capture or kill mission. People like you," Here she pointed to Barracuda. "It sounded like your kind are being massacred there."

Barracuda said nothing, nor did he give any indication that he was listening.

"What is going on there?" Karin asked. "Is this some sort of…" Her voice became softer suddenly, as though she was afraid to say this. "Is this some sort of genocide?"

"Shut up, you fucking whore!" Barracuda screamed suddenly. He shot off the bed and slammed her into the wall. "Don't talk about things you don't know anything about! You don't even fucking care! Fucking bullshit!" He stood there for a moment, and suddenly removed his hands from Karin as though she burned his skin. He backed up slowly, as though he were afraid he might be jumped for his sudden action against Karin. The he quickly darted to the window and disappeared from view.

"Wait!" Karin made to follow, but Sasuke stopped her.

For a moment he said nothing. No one said anything. The same questions hung over all of their heads like an ill-omened storm cloud.  _Is something like that really going on somewhere? Somewhere so close to us? And we had no idea?_

Eventually, Sasuke let go of Karin, still too deep in thought and perhaps even a bit shocked, to notice the fact that she hadn't blushed once at his touching her for so long. She didn't even seem to notice that he'd let go. She simply stood there, staring at the open window.

"He'll be back." Sasuke murmured at length. "We'll let him cool down." Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "I guess I'll try to talk to him later."

Karin was right, Sasuke had to admit. This was information—no matter how disturbing—that could become useful to all of them in the future. Especially if there was a war brewing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> 1) In case you weren't aware or forgot, Hayate canonically has an excellent sense of smell, and is said (on his wiki, at least haha) to be able to smell the blood and death from a war from really far away.
> 
> 2) Chorió Fỳlla - Leaf Village (Greek)
> 
> 3) Gi Tou Pagetoú - Frost Country (Greek)
> 
> 4) Terra Pruina - Frost Country (Latin)
> 
> 5) Terra Fluctus - Land of Waves (Latin) just in case ya forgot ;)
> 
> 6) Gi Tou Chionioú - Land of Snow (Greek)
> 
> 7) Gi Tou Pyros - Land of Fire (Greek)
> 
> 8) Nỳchi Chóra - Claw Country (Greek)
> 
> 9) Edáfu Tis Oryzónes Ta Kỳmata - Lands of Rice Fields and Waves (Greek)
> 
> 10) Gi tou Anémou - Land of Wind (Greek)
> 
> 11) Aquis Patriae - Water Country (Latin)
> 
> xxxx
> 
> $0.10: 1 sídero (gold)
> 
> $1.00: 1 chalkós (silver) (slang: jack, scratch; jack used as plural form, and also referring to money/coin in general; scratch is singular, used only for chalkós)
> 
> $10.00: 1 asími (copper)
> 
> $100.00: 1 chrysós (iron) (slang: ferr; in Latin iron=ferrum, thus "ferr")
> 
> xxxx
> 
> Okay... yeah... I dunno... Just, if you have anything that would be considered constructive criticism, that would greatly be appreciated. Maybe I rushed a bit to get this out. I admit I might have. But I just don't care right now because I'm just so fucking tired. I hope I didn't miss anything weird when I skimmed it like 20 minutes ago. OTL


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